well it’s you may have thought i forgot about photo friday…but i didn’t! here are a few of my christmas favs.

these pretty little buggers protect my lenses

the family together (the middle nalgene is the new one-if that wasn’t noticeable by all the scratches on the others!)

and finally…lucky! she’s my faithful friend over break.

i hope everyone had a great christmas…have a safe and fun new year!

though the 61 degree weather might not show it right now in grantham, pa, christmas is approaching…and fast. santa might have a hard time getting around this year…he’ll probably be drenched in sweat when he finishes the central pennsylvania area. before more time gets away from me, i want to wish everyone a merry christmas and a happy new year. have a peaceful holiday season and safe travels!

to inaugurate photo friday i’ll give you my favorites from yesterday’s celebratory walk around campus (for being done w/ finals).

it reads: dear santa, i want a new baby brother please!-suzi

the famous messiah college covered bridge

boyer (with crazy awesome wood sculpture thing)

hostetter chapel

this one is for a friend (how many windows are there isaac?)

i never make decisions very quickly. i remember back when i was in 8th grade and i wanted a playstation (psone…the small version of the playstation) i sat for hours at the computer comparing prices and crunching numbers. it was a meticulous process that payed off at christmas that year.

ironically, when i made the decision to change my major this year (well…double major) it was a matter of days that i made the decision. i guess frustration and anger can speed up the decision making process.

perhaps it’s just with electronics that i am slow to make decisions about. recently i’d been talking about getting a new camera until i completely exhausted my resources for information. i had checked just about every website that would give their two cents to the nikon vs. canon debate. i also just about asked everyone i knew about their opinion…probably to the point of annoyance.

after doing the good “type a” personality thing crunching number and as my birthday and christmas converge, i finally made my decision! yesterday when i went to pick up my new nikon d40 slr with 18-55mm and 55-200mm vr lenses there was much excitement and glee as i partook of the wonderous odor of fresh electronics in the afternoon! the only problem is that the shipping was so fast that it came right in the middle of finals week! (i thought i planned it perfectly so that it would arrive after finals were done…oops!)

the camera is so beautiful and i can’t wait for finals to be over so that i can run around messiah and take photos galore. not only will this help my personal photo taking but i’m eager to use it on my first assignment for work (b/c i’m one of the student photographers for the college).

on a sad note, a tear was shed last night as i boxed up my old camera (fujifilm s9000). memories of all the good times we had together (and the bad times) flashed (no pun intended) before me. she will find a good new home in the hands of my girlfriend (who is quite the photographer).

the fujifilm s9000 (’twas a good camera)

with this, i’m hoping to start a new “thing” on my blog. i want to start “photo fridays” in which i post a picture i’ve taken that week. i hope this gives me some accountability to push my homework aside and actually go take photos like a good college student. i have high hopes for this…but forgive me if i forget.

so my girlfriend and i (along with two of our friends-linda-really smart nursing major-and liam-one of messiah’s star tennis players and champion of the number two spot for doubles) have been watching the hannibal lecter movies. there’s anywhere from 3 to 5 movies in this series (depending on who you ask). In order of chronology (not release date) it goes: hannibal rising, manhunter/red dragon, silence of the lambs, and hannibal. the ones we’ve seen so far are hannibal rising, red dragon, and hannibal. now, i’m not going to say much about each movie because to do so would give away the plot and that’s not nice to do. i’m posting about these movies because i was talking about them at work and people wanted me to blog about what i thought. so here it goes.

understand that i am not a horror movie junkie. i actually hate horror movies. i like the funny movies…like austin powers or cars…that’s more my speed (no pun intended). so i entered this series quite skeptical and honestly fearful.

after seeing 3 of the movies, i have no problem saying that these are truly excellent movies. granted, the subject matter is quite disturbing…and is not suited for everyone. i feel that the gruesome factor has been overplayed and has unfortunately turned people away before even trying to watch one of these movies. i will probably watch these movies no more than one more time in my life, but i am happy i saw them.

completely speaking from the theatrical aspect, these movies (though more so the anthony hopkins movies, thus eliminating hannibal rising) are excellent. anthony hopkins played an excellent hannibal lecter…classy but distrubed. the acting in general is superb and if you look at imdb, the awards speak for themselves.

in terms of subject matter, yes, it is somewhat disturbing. if you don’t know the plot or the general premise of the movies, check imdb and they’ll fill in the blanks. despite the disturbing plot, there is a lot that kept me drawn to these movies. perhaps it’s because the plot visualizes the unthinkable side of the human mind. i think it goes deeper than that though. deep down, as is seen particularly in the last movie, there is love in the heart of hannibal lecter (though grossly misplaced and horribly expressed). i really don’t know how to explain my feelings toward this character after watching 3 of the movies. if you truly watch these movies i think, you will feel this inexpressible perception of hannibal as well. not hate. not love. perhaps compassion…or sympathy.
all i can say is that these movies are worth seeing if you can stomach them. there is much we can learn about childhood abuse (physically and emotionally) and it’s effects later on in life. though there comes a time when we must own our actions (as hannibal must), we must also not forget the power of abusive childhoods.

hannibal movies w/ anthony hopkins: 4 out of 5 nalgenes

hannibal rising: 3 out of 5 nalgenes

last night was our last rec floor hockey game. our team showed up in full force (which is in itself a phenomenon). poised and ready to conquer (or at least give it an honest effort) our team entered warm ups. as we warmed up for a night of physically and emotionally demanding rec floor hockey, we noticed the many holes in our opponent’s roster. at first there were two…then three. after 15 minutes of waiting, we were notified that they had to forfeit (due to their swiss cheese of a line up).

with much joy and excitement our season comes to an end on a high note…well sort of. due to a technicality, we finished our season 1-8 (though we would all agree our team was determined to win the last game…so we would have ended 1-8 anyway…even though we were going to play the baseball team…and they’re big…real big…and we’re not…so perhaps one could argue that we would have lost…but i would strenuously object).

as the leader of the team by default, i find it my duty and honor to congratulate my team members on a season well played. and as a true philadelphia flyers fan would say, “well…there’s always next year.”