Grading Papers

As some of my faithful readers may know, I'm taking a class this summer called "Publication Editing," or Editing, for short. I love the class because I'm learning so much. Since I was an English major in a previous life (no wait, that's this life, it just feels like a different life), this class is an extra challenge. I know, I know what you would say: it should be easier since you already have a firm grasp of grammar rules. But this is not true. Editing makes you doubt everything you've ever learned.

For example: Pick the correct answer.
The award goes to whoever/whomever writes the best article.

I'll give you some time to think about it.

Here's a hint: you choose the correct answer by replacing whoever with he, and whomever with him, and seeing which fits best in the sentence from that point to the end.

Have you figured it out? You have?!?! Well, you must be smarter than I am, because I have had a difficult time with all of the who/whom problems.

Oh, yeah, by the way, the answer is whoever. If you want the full explanation, post a comment and I will respond.

For all of my English-loving life, I've been taught that you never end a prepositional phrase with who (I know I did just there, but it's to illustrate my point). It is always to whom. But, according to A.P. style, that doesn't matter. It is different and confusing and gives me a headache every time I think about it.

Well, lucky for me, I get to not only do the homework, I get to grade the papers. This is an advantage because it gives me a second chance to go over all the questions and learn the correct answer really well. Also, I'm fairly nosy about everyone else's grades and this just gives me a chance to know what they are making. I'm not telling anyone, but I just like to know for my own personal benefit, that way I can know how I'm doing in comparison.

The point of this entry was to post an entry, and I couldn't think of anything to write about except for what I'm getting ready to do. So with that in mind, I'll go now. I have to grade some papers, and I'm ready to get it over with so I can start on my homework for the night.

Batman Begins!

Oh my gosh! I just saw the new Batman movie and it was fabulous! Those fans who were worried that this movie would be a repeat of "Batman & Robin" need not fear. This prequel film was the edgiest, scariest, darkest film of the seven live-action films that have been made to date.
Director Christopher Nolan, whose previous films include "Insomnia" and "Memento," truly does an amazing job of matching the look of the movie to the feeling of the characters. Gotham City is less the gritty metropolis seen in the previous films; instead, a sleeker, harder town that still retains much of the granduer of gothic styled architecture is seen. Nolan uses his story-telling abilities to weave the back story of Bruce Wayne into the character's present day life. Discussion of fear is a major theme through this movie, and fear is what you'll feel when you watch this film (at least I was afraid through a lot of parts in the movie - it was scary!).

Getting in touch with the angrier aspects of the hero's psyche, Christian Bale portrays the ultimate Bruce Wayne, with his intriguing, dark, introspective look at the masked avenger. Not only did Bale act the part, he put on 60 pounds of muscle for this role, allowing him to really resemble a superhero capable of doing all the tricks he does. I thoroughly enjoyed learning that Batman was not always a fan of bats. This movie shows how the child Bruce Wayne is actually terrified of them, adding another level of complexity to the character. Bale's portrayal of the bitterness and regret that Wayne feels over the loss of his parents was moving, causing me to tear up within the first thirty minutes of the movie twice! Another entertaining aspect of the movie was watching Wayne make all of his neat tools that help him fly and other assorted tasks. However, as entertaining as all of the details of Bruce Wayne's backstory are, this movie would have been a flop had it not been for Bale's outstanding performance. Much like what I said about "Star Wars: Episode III," Hayden Christianson and Christian Bale carried the weight of their respective films with them. I say, job well done to both men.

As far as side characters go, this film has a wonderful supporting cast, ranging from experienced actors to newer fresh faces. Katie Holmes plays Rachel Dawes, the honest district attorney who constantly fights for true justice. With a sometimes hilarious, sometimes touching performance, Michael Caine plays Wayne's butler Albert. Liam Neeson also gives a memorable performance as Wayne's mentor, Ducard. Other cast members include Gary Oldman as Sgt. Jim Gordon, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Cillian Murphy as Dr. Crane, Ken Watanabe as Ra's Al Ghul, and Tom Wilkinson as gangster Carmine Falcone. This supporting cast adds much to the film, and without the talents of these actors, the film would have been less entrancing.

I would like to touch on the special effects in this movie. First of all, this movie has the best Batman car ever! This tank that still has the cool flame that pops out of the back of it (sorry I don't know the technical term for it) while being able to realistically crash through concrete blocks and run over police cars. As I sat next to my friend Jeremy through the movie, we both stared in awe at the car. It was awesome! Also the special effects that are used to simulate the effects of being drugged were amazing. I was truly terrified at the shots because they were so realistic, not too mention ultra trippy. My theory on special effects in movies now-a-days is that since the release of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, special effects have improved a great deal in the fact that they are actually realistic now. You can believe that Batman flies in this movie because it looks real. Overall, this movie had superb special effects, and made the movie way more enjoyable since you didn't get caught up in catching the special effects blunders.

Last, I want to recommend this movie to both Batman comic book fans and movie fans alike. This movie was a truly entertaining 2 and a half hours. The pace of the story moves quickly, and makes you feel as if you have only been sitting still in a dark theater for a brief period of time. I can hardly wait to go back and see this film again, so that I may catch more nuances that I missed the first time. And also because Christian Bale is such a hottie that I wouldn't mind staring at him again for 2 and a half hours (watch out Brad Pitt, I've found myself a new heartthrob!).

Feeling Useless at Work

I am sitting at the desk in the editor's office at work. Although I have gotten a ton of my homework done today, I'm feeling altogether useless. First of all, I'm not even supposed to be here today (I'm supposed to be working today, but just at a different office - just wanted to quote the line from Clerks). Second of all, there is absolutely nothing for me to do. I called my boss's secretary, and she told me she'd call me if there was anything for me to do. I have a feeling that the phone won't ring all day. So, instead of doing nothing, I decided to go to my regular job and work on some homework. I've finished up the newspaper I had to design, and I'm very pleased with it. I think it turned out quite nice. Granted I don't know all the rules and I probably made some huge errors, but I think it looks good. Tangent - I'm just so ready to be finished with my intersession class. I only have to wake up at 8:00 for two more days. Gosh, they can't fly by quick enough. - End of Tangent. So, then I thought that I could do some work on the paper that I'm supposed to be putting together with Lynne, Dale, and Eller. I spent some time on the net looking for a press release about Carrie Underwood signing the RCA/American Idol record deal, only to learn that somebody else had alredy done my only job so far. So I went back to doing homework. I am grateful that I'm getting all this time to work on it, and I've gotten almost all of my homework done, but I'm just feeling like I've not done anything productive today. On a happier note, Mom, Molly, and I are going to go see The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants tonight. Molly got me to read those books and I absolutely love them! It surprised me because I figured that the books were just for teenagers (haha! I'm no longer a teenager!), but they are really entertaining. We will for sure have a good time tonight at the movie. Maybe I'll have to write a post about it...
So I'm thinking about watching Lost tonight. They are starting the season over, and I've wanted to watch it all semester long. It's got Dominic Monaghan in it, and I'm a huge LOTR fan, so I want to support him. (By the way, he plays Merry in the movies.) I just don't know if I can devote that much time to another TV show. But I really am interested in seeing it. I'd really like to just wait until it comes out on DVD - which I'm sure it will since almost every TV show is out on DVD these days - and watch it all at once. Hmm, I guess I'll have to weigh my options.
Well, I better go. I've got to make it to my 4:30 movie with my mom and sister. I'll write about how wonderful or cheesy or bad or mediocre the movie is later.