New Year's Resolutions

It's that time of year again. When everyone makes a promise, or promises, of self improvement. When people declare that in the coming year, they will change themselves for the better! New Year's Resolutions are like pinky promises. You can't break them. Right?

Anyway, despite the fact that I obviously don't require much self improvement (that's a joke people…lighten up) I've decided that I should make not one, but fourteen New Year's Resolutions. Why? Because it's 2014…get it? I didn't think it was very complicated but I figured I should explain it just in case.

Got to love Calvin & Hobbes.

Alright, here we go!

1. Shave regularly! As much as everyone loves my beard, it gets reallllllyyy itchy.
2. Find a four leaf clover.
3. Learn how to juggle.
4. Earn my C2014!
5. Meditate.
6. Win the lottery.
7. Vote for the first time ever! Candidates, feel free to start taking me out to lunch in order to win my vote.
8. Run 1/26th of a marathon.
9. Stay more up to date on current events. Especially the ones involving reality television stars.
10. Read more often. I feel I have less time to read for fun the older I get.
11. Stop snacking on chocolate chips whenever I get hungry.
12. Make the right decision when it comes to college…whatever that may be.
13. No more procrastinating! Haha yeah right.
14. Blog more often!

Alright, I've told you mine. What are your New Year's Resolutions?

Smorgasbord

I know how impatient you have all been for me to update my blog with a new post.

If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me, "Hey Matt, when's the next blog post coming out?" or some random stranger came up to me on the street and said, "I love your blog!! Keep up the great work!" I'd be rich!

Okay, not really.

But in all honesty I'll admit that I haven't been posting as much as I would like to. And a large part of that is, well, what am I going to post about? My life isn't that exciting. Sure, I could write about fencing tournaments or a family gathering of some sort. But those don't really make for fascinating reading (or writing) material. I could write about current events, but there are enough other more qualified people who are taking up plenty of internet space doing just that. Also, as my blog is read by thousands of people all over the world, I'd hate for it to become a source of controversy. Lastly, I could do what I've been doing, which is writing movie and book reviews. But I don't want my blog to be just about reviews either, which it seems to be headed towards.

So after a long deliberation, I have decided that I will write whenever about whatever I choose. That could mean every day, it could mean once a year. I could write about movie reviews or maybe I bump into some strange, beautiful woman at a New Year's Eve party and I relive the plot of High School Musical! You never know.

Anyway, I've decided to write about a few different things in this blog post to make up for lost time. This is for you, America.

College Updates

It's been an exciting past couple of weeks, as I've heard from most of my schools! I'm very proud to say that I was accepted everywhere I applied, except for UConn which doesn't release its decision until later on. In addition, I was accepted to the Honors Programs at Drexel, Pace, and University of South Carolina. The last one is actually the number one public Honors College in the nation, which is very exciting. Hard work does pay off, kiddos!

I was offered preliminary aid estimates by Northeastern, Drexel, Pace, and University of South Carolina and am still waiting to hear from NCSU on that front. At the moment, it would seem as though USC is the frontrunner in terms of matching UConn for cost, as they guaranteed me in-state tuition. I'll have to wait until March until I make my final decision. (And I still need to visit most of my schools!)

Year in Review

I said earlier my life isn't that exciting, but I still had some amazing experiences in 2013. Wow, I really hate being serious.

Finished second at a fencing tournament at Fairfield Fencing Academy in February!

Pajama Jammers!

Finished second (again) at a tournament in Candlewood!

Going to a Red Sox game in April with Green Monster seats!

National Honor Society Induction at the end of April!

NHS induction again!

Going to WWE in June and being on TV (see me over the right shoulder of the middle guy). I don't care what anyone says, wrestling is the coolest.

Mets game!

Pre senior year party with the Class of 2014!

Another Red Sox game at the end of August!

Twin day….

…and Toga Day!

The second game of the ALDS with my Grandpa and Isaac…

…with seats right above the bullpen and Rays' ace David Price!

Mr. RHS! 

It was an amazing show, and congrats to Pat Purcell on winning!

Finished 8th at the Turkey Stab renewing my D2013!

And last but not least…I FINALLY won a fencing tournament, beating out 39 other high school guys at the East Lyme Winter Classic.

In hindsight it was a damn good year. 

Best of 2013

Since I can't seem to stop writing reviews, I thought I'd finish this post of with a list of the best movies I saw and books I read of 2013.

Books:

1. House of Hades by Rick Riordan

2. Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

3. The Mayan Prophecy by Alex Scarrow

4. Monsters by Ilsa J. Bick

5. The Royal Ranger by John Flanagan

Movies:

1. Saving Mr. Banks

2. American Hustle

3. The Desolation of Smaug

4. Gravity

5. Iron Man 3

Thank you so much for reading my blog! It means a lot to me. I'll try to write more in the future, but no promises. Have a happy and safe New Year.

Book Review: The House of Homophobia

Well, let's not bury the lead. Before I get into my review of the fourth book in Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series, The House of Hades, there's something I'd like to address. Be forewarned; there are spoilers ahead. So don't read this post if you haven't read the book and plan on doing so!

Whenever I finish a book, I usually like to go online to read what other people think. Were their opinions of the novel similar to mine? Did they have a different reaction to the characters than I did? The sites that I usually choose to peruse are Amazon and Goodreads.

I was completely shocked at some of the reviews I read. Despite the fact that The House of Hades was a very good book, several people gave it negative reviews merely for the fact that Nico comes out as homosexual. Let's take a look at some of these comments. (Click on the pictures to expand them.)

These were only a few of several similar comments I found online. I find it unbelievable that in the year 2013 people can be so close minded. What especially disturbs me is that people are upset because they don't want their children to know about homosexuals. I just find that completely ridiculous. It's not like the fact that there are homosexuals is a giant secret. It's just a fact of the world, and there's no reason that children shouldn't know that as soon as they're able to understand the concept of love. 

Also, I find the idea that Rick Riordan is pushing his own "political agenda" by having Nico come out as gay completely ridiculous. Riordan is merely taking a character in the direction he feels is best for his series. It's not like Riordan was demanding that Nico and Percy should be allowed to get married. And even if he was, who cares? Anyone who wants to should be allowed to get married. It's sad that people are so ignorant and it's disheartening to see just how much homophobia, hate, and fear can arise from a harmless novel. 

Okay, I'm done with my rant. Time to get to the review!

Background

I'm honestly not going to give much of the backhand round of the story away here, because if you haven't read any of this series then what are you doing with your life??? Instead, I'm going to give my background when it comes to Riordan's novels.

I first picked up The Lighting Thief in fifth grade and was instantly sucked in. It was the definition of a page turner as I finished it within a day. Yet, I thought Riordan's first series was a little shaky. I found The Sea of Monsters to be disappointing, and after a very strong effort in The Titan's Curse I thought that The Battle of the Labyrinth was rather weak. But Riordan ended on a solid enough note with The Last Olympian, that I was anxious to see what he would produce moving forward. 

Riordan's next project involved the Egyptian gods instead of the Greeks, and I was very excited when I began to read The Red Pyramid in 2010. Unfortunately, it was a letdown as I could not get into the novel at all. In my mind, it was easily Riordan's worst effort to date and I believed that the brilliance of his first novel might have been a fluke. 

But later in 2010, the first book of a new Riordan series was published, this time once again dealing with the Greek gods. At first, I had no intention of reading this series. But when I heard that my old beloved characters, Percy and Annabeth, were going to be in this series, I had to check out The Lost Hero. 

Not only was it as good as The Lighting Thief, but the books that followed it, The Son of Neptune and The Mark of Athena, have been just as strong. In fact, The Mark of Athena was Riordan's best work yet by far. Unlike the original series, Riordan's second shot at the Olympians had no weak points. So needless to say, I had high expectations for The House of Hades. 

The Good

The House of Hades has all of Riordan's signature quirks. He expertly weaves in Greek mythology with modern day landmarks and cities. There are several new and exciting monsters that our heroes have to face. And of course, humor is present throughout the novel. 

Yet despite the humor, there is a significant darkness throughout this novel, much more so than any of Riordan's other books. Most of this darkness is conveyed through the chapters with Percy and Annabeth in Tartarus, a storyline which adds a whole new layer to the book that takes the series into a place it had never gone before.

Leo's POV chapters were also a highlight. I think it's safe to say that Leo is the breakout star from Riordan's new series. At first he basically seems like Grover's substitute, a tool to provide comic relief and a more lighthearted character. But we have slowly come to learn that there is much more to Leo than just comedy, as has definitely become the most developed of the new characters. Along with Percy and Annabeth in Tartarus, his chapters with Calypso were my favorite part of this novel.

The Bad

Throughout The Heroes of Olympus series Riordan has employed a POV style of writing. That is, he alternates chapters between the points of view of different characters. In the first two books of the series, it worked well for him due to the fact that he only had to write from three characters' POVs in each novel. This became a problem in the third book, however, as Riordan now had seven characters to write for. As a result, he decided that a few unlucky characters wouldn't get POV chapters. As a result, we missed out on chapters with Jason, Hazel, and Frank which was disappointing. However, it was better than the clumsiness with which Riordan handled the POVs in The House of Hades.

For some reason, Riordan decided to give all seven characters POV chapters in The House of Hades. While it was nice to get to hear from each character, this made for some very abrupt, awkward, and downright disappointing character development. We randomly hear that Frank has been hearing the voices Ares and Mars arguing in his head since the Argo II set sail, only for that dilemma to end a few chapters later with Frank now a stronger more respectable son of Ares. Okay.

Then, there was Jason randomly deciding that he wanted to be a Greek instead of a Roman in the middle of the novel. Maybe I missed something, but that completely came out of nowhere for me and didn't seem to fit in with where the novel had been heading thus far. 

Finally, there was Hazel  learning to manipulate the mist. It seemed as though this was being set up as one of the main subplots of the story along with Percy and Annabeth in Tartarus. However, after the opening chapters with Hecate, we only get one brief scene with Hazel using the Mist in action before the final confrontation in the House of Hades. Riordan made a great leap by claiming that since Hazel used the Mist in battle once, she could face a sorceress. 

It was almost as if Riordan focused all of his energy on the Percy and Annabeth story and forgot he had other characters to write about.

The Ugly

Please, can someone tell me how it is that EVERY SINGLE TIME one of the demigods is confronted by a monster in this book, they get out of the situation by stalling???? EVERY TIME. 

This is a problem I've had with all of the Riordan's books, but he usually uses the stalling tactic sparingly so I let it slide. But not in this story; oh no. Almost every time one of our heroes is confronted with a monster they are able to escape by stalling. I get it. They're clever. But it becomes mind numbing and insulting to the reader after being used so often.

Not only does Riordan have the characters stall when facing minor enemies, but he also has them successfully use that tactic against some of their most dangerous foes in Nyx and Tartarus. It's ridiculous.

However, the strong storylines of Leo and of Percy and Annabeth in Tartarus as well as Riordan's signature quirks and humor are enough to overcome the faults. This is another great book that Riordan can add to his resume, despite the fact that it is a step down from the previous novel in the series.

Verdict: 8 out of 10

Movie Review: Katniss Everdeen and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

It seems that no matter what website you go to these days, you'll see someone posting something about how amazing Catching Fire was, how it was so perfect, how Jennifer Lawrence is the most amazing actress to ever grace the big screen.

Did I see the same movie as everyone else?

Don't get me wrong, it was a good movie. Especially compared to the first Hunger Games, which I wasn't a huge fan of. Who thought the shaky cam was a good idea? And does anyone else just see Mystique from X-Men when they see Lawrence? Honestly, that's all I can see when I look at her. I keep thinking to myself, "Why is Mystique in the Hunger Games?" But I digress. The fact is, I don't consider Catching Fire to be an earth shattering movie. Let's get to the details.

The Good

I thought it could never happen, but it did. A movie was better than the book it was based on. My hats off to everyone involved on this accomplishment. Now to be completely fair, the book it was based on wasn't anything great and was easily the weakest of The Hunger Games trilogy in my opinion. Still, it's always impressive to see a movie surpass its source material.

The movie also stayed very loyal to the book, and many of the scenes played out exactly as I pictured them in my head. Notably, the District 11 scene on the Victory Tour and Joanna's strip scene in the elevator were both very true to form and very powerful. Powerful in different ways, but powerful none the less. Also, the actual arena itself was exactly how I pictured it from the novel, unlike the arena in the original movie. 

Of course, the acting in this movie was spot on. We knew from the previous installment that Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Effie, Haymitch and President Snow were all perfectly portrayed by their respective actors.  And the new additions didn't disappoint. Finnick and Joanna were especially on point. Also how hilarious was the Caesar Flickerman segment? That might have been the highlight of the movie for me. 

And there was no shaky cam!

The Bad

I understand that Madge isn't a character in the movies and she doesn't necessarily need to be. But in order to make up for her absence, they needed to come up with a way for Katniss to find out about the uprisings in the districts. So what they decide to do is have the peacekeepers constantly leave the door of their security room open just enough for Katniss to peak into and see what's going on.

Why do the peacekeepers always keep that door open one inch? Do they just keep forgetting to close it? Do they need fresh air? Are they actually on Katniss's side and want her to see what's going on? Is there something wrong with the door? 

Also, I don't like how Katniss appeared to completely forget about Cinna once the games started. I know she needed to focus on the task at hand and not worry about Cinna getting his head bashed in, but the fact that she didn't mention it the rest of the movie seemed a little heartless. At least in the book, Katniss had a couple random thoughts about him during the games so we knew she hadn't completely forgotten about him.

The Ugly

Okay, so here's my biggest issue with not only Catching Fire, but the entire movie franchise in general. 

So much of the book happens inside Katniss's head, especially when she struggles with her feeling for Peeta and Gale. And despite the writers and producers best efforts, this just doesn't come across on the big screen. It's hard to see what her feelings are for both Gale and Peeta. In the movie, it seems like she just randomly goes from pretending to have feelings for Peeta in order to play for the cameras to actually deeply caring about him. It was very random and sudden. The love triangle just doesn't translate well to the big screen in my opinion. Without getting the gritty details that are only available in Katniss's head, it appears she is merely choosing between a moody, brooding miner or a whining bread baker. Not very compelling, in my opinion.

Overall though, Catching Fire is a good movie that accurately draws on, and even surpasses its source material. The only problem is that the source material wasn't anything special to begin with.

Verdict: 7.5 out of 10

Mr. RHS 2.0

I honestly don't have much to say here.

Mr. RHS last night was just awesome, in my opinion. But most importantly, it was a ton of fun.  The contestants were amazing, my fellow emcees were great, and the stage crew did a great job making sure things went smoothly.

There was a lot of effort put in in order to make Mr. RHS occur, and I think it was completely worth it. A big thanks goes out to Mrs. Barr, Ms. Perun, Chelsea, Jess, Leah, Jenna, and all of our judges who volunteered their time in order for Mr. RHS to happen. And of course, congratulations to the winner, Pat Purcell!

It's kind of amazing, though, to finally be done with something I had been looking forward to for four years. I feel like it was just last week I was a freshman, watching Mr. RHS for the first time. It makes me feel old.

Mr. RHS

Alright, everyone…the big night is tomorrow! Don't miss it. The contestants are great, the hosts are extremely good looking, and it's going to be hilarious. 

I know firsthand how hard everyone is working to make this show happen; from the Class Government to the stage hands to the escorts to the hosts to the contestants. It's going to be a great show and you don't want to miss it. 

The annual pageant is scheduled for 7 p.m. tomorrow in the Rockville High School auditorium.

The nine contestants are Quentin Ellis, Brendan Shannon, Patrick Purcell, Patrick Breslin, Abe Khade, Adam Barselau, Erik Reid, Brendan Kennedy, and Cameron Neal.

The hosts will be Sean O'Gara, Tim Lyons, and of course, myself!

Don't miss this always spectacular event!

Book Review: Monsters

Oh man. Do you know that feeling you get when you finish something really good? Like an amazing piece of steak? You know, kind of like "Wow, I can't believe it's over." That's the feeling I have right now after finishing Monsters by Ilsa J. Bick, the final book in The Ashes Trilogy.

Don't get me wrong, this series is by no means the next Hunger Games or Harry Potter. It definitely has some significant faults which we'll get to in a minute. But if a book or series gives me that feeling, it definitely did something right.

First, let me give a little background on the novel. I'll preface this by saying that this will essentially also be a review of the first two books in the series, as it's hard to review the third book in a trilogy all by itself. Also, I'll do my best to keep it spoiler free in case one of you wants to read the book after seeing this review.

Background

The Ashes Trilogy is set in a post apocalyptic world (surprise!) after someone or something lets of a series of Electro Magnetic Pulses, or EMPs, that causes almost everyone to die or turn into zombies (surprise!) leaving only a small amount of lucky survivors.

The central character of the series is Alex, a teenage girl who lost her parents in a crash a few years previously and was then diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. The original novel follows her and her struggle to survive in this sad sad world, while the final two novels also branch out and follow the characters she encounters along the way.

This book is technically Young Adult Fiction, but the material is definitely not suitable for anyone under the age of 14. These are some intense books which deal with a lot of mature subject matters. Also there is a lot, and I mean A LOT of gore. Imagine going to a butcher's and then rolling around a cow's intestines (my apologies to any vegetarians or vegans reading this). That's how you feel after reading these books. But if you're one of those people who refuses to read certain books just because they're classified as YA, please don't let that stop you from reading this one.

Alright, let's get to the real stuff.

The Good

I'll just come out and say it. Characters. The characters in this book are absolutely amazing. Bick does an incredible job painting her characters as real people with real problems, ones you can connect to. And the best thing is, there are so many characters, that if you don't like one of them, you're guaranteed to find one you do. It actually gets to the point that there may be too many characters (we'll get to that later) but Bick really does an amazing job of giving life to so many different people. You actually grow to care about the characters and are invested in their fate. 

The plot is also extremely stellar. For such a contrived and cliched concept, Bick really hits it out of the park. She takes the series in a completely different direction from what one would expect, and it really helps her stand out among the sea of post apocalyptic YA fiction writers that seem to be taking over the Earth. There are very few things I would change when it comes to the plot; it almost plays out like a movie in your head. Every character's decision stays true to who they are, and it pays off in some incredible drama. 

Also, the suspense in this novel is amazing. Some people don't like when authors end every other chapter with a cliffhanger; they say it's lazy writing and it loses its effectiveness when over done. Well, maybe I'm just a sucker, but I fell for it every time. When I picked the book up and really started to read, I just couldn't put it down. 

Perhaps most importantly, the ending of the book is satisfying. It wraps up all of the lose ends it needs to wrap up, and has a satisfying, albeit not necessarily happy, conclusion for all of the main characters. There is very little controversy or ambiguity. Sure, a few questions are left open-ended, but the novel and the series is better off for that. 

The Bad

Let's start with the obvious; it's a Young Adult Fiction series that is based in a post-apocalyptic world. Sound familiar? At this point, it's a cliched, and overdone concept that might turn readers off before they even pick up the book. And on top of that, it's a trilogy. I mean, come on! Can't authors just write one book anymore and leave it alone?

Speaking of leaving things alone, let's talk about the characters. While I did say above that Bick's characters were probably the strongest points of the series, she might have tried to outdo herself. She creates just a few too many characters, that she can't quite reach them all and make all of them meaningful. So there are a few uninteresting characters floating around. This isn't a huge problem, but it is when there are several chapters in a row focused on said characters. 

Also, Bick gets a little too cute with the whole idea of telepathy/mind control/dreams/out of body experience thing. It wasn't an issue at all in the first two novels, but it's really at the forefront of this one, especially at the big climax of the novel which kind of irritated me. In general, I get the idea, but Bick makes it way more complicated than it should be. I found myself scratching my head at more than one point trying to figure out what exactly was going on. In addition, as a rule, I despise dream sequences in books, even when the author tries to tell me that they're "real" dreams, and this one had a little too much of that.

The Ugly

Alright, time to get to the biggest issue of not only Monsters, but the entire trilogy. And that is Bick's writing style. 

I'm not saying she's a bad writer, in fact, it's completely the opposite. Bick is a very talented wordsmith. But I don't have to know every single detail. Oh my goodness. Unless you've read the book, I really cannot explain to you how much detail Bick includes. It's over the top. She describes every move of every fight scene, of which there are several, as well as the intricate details behind the guns and other weapons used. There is also way too much of the characters thinking to themselves and struggling to battle their own personal demons. As a result, there can be pages at a time when nothing interesting is happening and there is absolutely no dialogue. Honestly, this book, and both other books in the trilogy, could have been about 200 pages shorter. 

I think Bick's biggest mistake is that she tried to make The Ashes Trilogy bigger than it was. She tried to make it some fantasy epic, when it simply wasn't. The nearest thing I can compare it to is George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. Martin's books also suffer from one too many characters and an overabundance of description. But, I find myself more forgiving when it comes to Martin's novels, if only for the reason that A Song of Ice and Fire is truly a fantasy epic. But even then, it's hard to overlook those faults. So how am I supposed to do so here? Martin's books involve battle and intrigue on a grand scale with so many interesting pieces fitting themselves together. Monsters is nothing like that, no matter how hard Bick wants it to be.

But she does such a good job of pretending it is an epic, I almost believed it myself.

Verdict: 7.5 out of 10

So, where are you looking to go to school?

This might be a case of too little, too late. But I'm at that stage of my life where evveerrryooonnnne I talk to wants to know where I'm applying for school. And not only do they want to know where I'm applying, they want to know why I'm applying there.

Don't get me wrong, it's nice to know that people have an interest in my future (more likely they're just trying to make conversation, but anyways) and I have absolutely no problem answering. But it just gets so repetitive answering the same question dozens and dozens of times.

I can't imagine there's someone I know who I haven't talked to about where I'm applying. But just in case there is, or I meet someone knew who's curious, I'll just say "read my blog!"

Before I go into detail about specific schools, here is just a general overview:

• All of these schools are in a somewhat urban environment (except UConn) which was a major factor in my decision making process. 
• All of these schools are very large and thus offer a wide range of majors and opportunities that a smaller school might not.
• These schools are all on the east coast. I considered applying elsewhere, but decided that I didn't want to put up with a change in time zones. 

All right, let's get to the highlights about specific schools!

Drexel University

• It's in The City of Brotherly Love! I stayed in Philadelphia for a week when I was at a fencing camp a few years ago and I loved it. 
• Drexel's Westphal College of Media Arts and Design has a very good reputation and it includes three majors I am very interested in; Film and Video, TV Production & Media Management, as well as Screenwriting and Playwriting.
• They have a co-op program!

North Carolina State University

• Raleigh seems like a really great city.
• I've heard great things about the school from someone who went there.
• Their scholars program looks like a lot of fun!
• The CHASS has plenty of different majors to choose from. 
• I feel like moving down south would be a great change of pace for me. 

Northeastern University

• I love Boston! Definitely my favorite city that I've visited. It would be amazing to go to school there.
• Northeastern is the perfect blend of campus and city. 
• Their co-op program also looks amazing. 
  

Pace University

• It has two campuses; one in Westchester and one in NYC.
• I'm very interested in their Film major. 
• I think going to school in New York would be a great experience and open a lot of opportunities for me!
  

University of Connecticut

• It's one of the top twenty public universities in the country!
• I'd get a pretty nice discount if I went there. 
• Their Digital Media program looks fantastic! I had an opportunity to meet with the head of the department, and it seems like the perfect program for me. 
  

University of South Carolina

• Similar reasons to NCSU; Columbia looks like a great place to live and I think going to school down south would be a nice change of pace.
• I've heard really good things about the school from my mom's friend who went there.
• Their Media Arts program looks really similar to the UConn Digital Media program!
  

Well, there you have it! No, nobody needs to ask me where I'm looking at for school anymore. And if they do, I'll just direct them here. Just kidding, that's kind of pompous. I'll probably tell them anyway. 

Movie Review: Why Mr. Incredible is a Jerk

Today, I watched The Incredibles for the first time in six or seven years.

Needless to say, that's been way too long.

I went through this phase in middle school and most of high school when I decided that animated films weren't "cool." They were for little kids, I thought, not big strong men like me! Of course, that was completely ridiculous. Unfortunately, I only realized it this past summer. As a camp counselor, there were several rainy days where the only thing to do to pass large chunks of time was watch movies. However, we were only allowed to show the kids movies that were rated "G." As a result, I was reintroduced to movies that I hadn't watched in ages; Toy Story, Aladdin, and The Emperor's New Groove, just to name a few. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed these movies, much more so than I had recent blockbusters such as Elysium and Man of Steel.

So, when I was scrolling through my DVR earlier today, and I saw that The Incredibles was on it, I made the excellent decision to watch it. I'm not going to summarize it here, because I assume you've all seen it. But there were a few things that jumped out to me.

First, I was a little startled at the violence in this children's movie. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with violence in film and television at all. But still, the amount of it in this movie was surprising. What was most surprising was how the two kids, Violet and Dash, seem to have no problem whatsoever killing, or watching their parents kill, the enemy soldiers. I get that they're just acting in self defense, but you'd think that a middle schooler and elementary schooler would have some sort of emotional response to killing. 

Another thing I noticed: Mr. Incredible is a real jerk! I mean, come on. The dude was born with super strength, which while cliche, is one of the coolest powers out there. He also has a hot wife, three kids, and a best friend who sounds just like Samuel L. Jackson. On top of that, he's got the government watching his back, picking up the pieces every time he screws up. He doesn't even get arrested for throwing his annoying boss through several office cubicles! Yet despite all of this, Mr. Incredible is incredibly ungrateful. He lives his whole life not caring about his family or his wife, just reminiscing about his days as a super hero. I get it, man. You had an awesome job and everyone loved you! But you have it pretty damn good anyways. Yeah, your job sucks. But you're not stuck there, go apply for a new one. Alas, all Mr. Incredible does is search for adventure, for an opportunity to return to the glory days. And he finds it all right. But in the end, he almost gets his entirely family killed for it. Don't worry though! At some point during the move, he'll offer a half assed apology. 

One final thing I noticed; the voice actor for Mr. Incredible's boss was also the voice actor for Rex in Toy Story. And he was also the actor who played Vizzini in The Princess Bride! I love that guy. 

Anyway, despite the fact that the main character is kind of unlikable, The Incredibles is still a fantastic movie, and has deservedly gone down as one of the best animated films of all time.

Verdict: 8 out of 10 

Stop and Smell the College Applications, er, I mean Roses

I'm writing this post not just for myself, but for all my fellow seniors who are struggling with college applications. Some of us don't know where we're applying yet and haven't even started, others still need to get letters of recommendations, and some people, like me, just have to write what feels like a million different essays.

Not overwhelmed yet? I'll keep going. Your guidance counselor not only has to deal with your application, but at least fifty others as well. The teachers who write the best letters of recommendation and are the best at reviewing and editing college essays only have so much time on their hands. And while all this is going on, you have your regular school work, maybe some ECE or AP classes. You're probably doing some sort of activity after school, be it a sport, marching band, or drama club. You might also have a job, just so you'll be able to pay for whatever ridiculously expensive college it is that you end up going to. Not to mention, you still have to find the time to eat, sleep, and watch "Breaking Bad." 

Now maybe, you're feeling a little stressed out. Perhaps, you might even feel like Walter White here;

But don't turn to a life of crime and awesome one liners so easily! Yes, it's stressful. Yes, it's a giant pain. And yes, even if you do get in, you'll be paying tens of thousands of dollars that you could have spent at Chipotle (which is way better than Moe's). 

Do whatever I do when I get stressed about college applications. Just stop, take a deep breath, and think about all the benefits that will come if you do a great job on your application. Imagine going to your dream school, be it in New York City, Alaska, or even here in Connecticut. And most importantly, think about how good you'll feel when it's all over. Yes, it's a lot of work. But everyone has to do it, and in the end it will be worth it, especially if all the schools that you're applying to are on the common application (If that's the case, I envy you). 

So, buckle down, get them done, and go eat an awesome breakfast to reward yourself. Hell, maybe even Flynn here will join you.

Hello!

So, I'm not entirely sure why, but today I decided to start writing a blog. In fact, I couldn't have made this decision at a worse time, considering I have about a dozen other things I absolutely need to get done. Of course, blogging isn't one of them. But in an example of fantastic procrastination, here I am blogging. Isn't that great? Now, some of you may be wondering about the title of my blog, "The Missing Fingernail." Obviously it's a play on words. We've all heard of the phrase "the missing link."Which according to Wikipedia (a fantastic research engine, you may not have heard of it) is a non-scientific term for any transitional fossil, especially one connected with human evolution. Fascinating. And it went well with the fact....

...*gasp* that I don't have a fingernail on my left index finger! I get a wide range of reactions when people notice this unique feature about me, from fascination to repulsion. It's always interesting, especially when little kids notice. How did I lose my fingernail, you ask? It was in a horrific shark attack. 

Just kidding! I was born without it. I apologize to anyone who did lose a fingernail in a shark attack, I did not mean to mock your pain. And sorry that I'm not smiling in that picture, I didn't realize that my face was in the camera. Whoops! I'm too lazy to retake it, though.