Obamacare repeal?

Greetings all!

I realize that I have not checked in for quite some time, but I recently changed jobs, and I haven’t been able to get online for a bit since.

Typically, I try not to get too involved with politics; however, there are times in history when news becomes so large and so relevant to the world that I simply would do my followers a disservice by not speaking about it. As long as you don’t live under a rock, you will know that the Republican-controlled Congress has been working on a “repeal and replace” plan for Obamacare since President Trump took office in January 2017. While most Republicans and even Democrats were hoping for a swift replacement to the dying healthcare plan, their hopes have fallen into the eternal gridlock that is Congress. Republicans, being the ones in charge, have drafted numerous bills that they have claimed to be a good replacement for Obamacare. When the time comes for a vote, however, the bills are shot down time and again by Democrats and even some Republicans. Catering to the rich and leaving middle-class America in the dust are two of the most common of citations for voting against these bills.

This all changed when President Trump, partnering with Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) drafted and signed an executive order that effectively began the replacement of Obamacare. The executive order allows citizens to cross state lines to seek healthcare insurance. This is something that many Senators, including Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) have suggested in the past, though it seems like it took the ever-popular Sen. Rand to accomplish. The bill, from what I understand, will increase healthcare company competition, which in turn will lower the cost of healthcare coverage. This is huge for Americans. Here are three major reasons why this will be phenomenal for our country.

1. Lowered healthcare costs Companies that once had monopolies in their respective states will now see their clients’ business going elsewhere, unless they lower their prices to compete with cheaper insurance companies. President Trump actually stated that this is exactly what he would do to replace Obamacare during his presidential debates against Hillary Clinton. Why should a single healthcare company, or any company for that matter, hold 100% sway over its respective markets? We live in America, which is the land of the free and the proud home of capitalism and the free market economy. This is textbook America, guys! Competition is a good thing; it makes companies take better care of their clients and prevents a single monopoly from forming.
2. Better opportunities for pre-existing condition patients Pre-existing conditions. What does it mean? To many, it can mean a myriad of possibilities for being denied insurance. A pre-existing condition is something like HIV, heart disease, etc. that a patient may have that could make them somewhat of a high-risk patient to be covered. Nowadays, many healthcare companies consider even common diseases such as diabetes a pre-existing condition. Due to this fact, many people have shoddy or no insurance whatsoever. Being able to go across state lines to find insurance companies means that these patients have a much better chance of finding the perfect insurance plan for their needs. This eliminates Obamacare’s mandatory use of state healthcare providers and opens up more affordable possibility with those who are “high risk”.
3. Fulfillment of Trump’s base During the campaign, a large issue that was brought up frequently by Trump was how much of a disaster Obamacare was. When him and Clinton stopped hurling insults at one another, which wasn’t often, they had the chance to answer normal, policy questions that most Americans were curious about. One question that came up was how they would work on Obamacare, as most Americans saw the healthcare system as a failure by this point. Trump said he would do exactly what is happening with Sen. Paul right now. During the debates, his supporters backed this idea. Now that it is happening, his word has been solidified. This is Trump delivering on a promise. Trump’s supporters are relentless in their faith, and this shows that their leader can deliver. While other promises like the wall are taking their time, this one has just been given the fast track to success.

While Congressional Democrats will no doubt take issue with this executive order, calling it “rash” and “dangerous,” it seems that this marks a change of direction for the somewhat ambiguous Trump administration. Many supporters worried about the large amount of turnaround the White House experienced over the last few months; I believe that this action will ease their fears. Regardless of whether this act fails or helps countless Americans as it is intended, one thing is certain: the Democrats and media will find a way to paint it as an utter failure. Mark my words on that one, friends.

I am no expert on politics; rather, I am a neophyte who is simply interested in the policies and process. This article is only my opinion and my best attempt at portraying this monumental event in our nation’s history. I will continue to pray for our president and our country. God bless,  y’all!

New York City – APCA 2017

New York City is something that I often imagine to be the center of our world; it makes sense because it is often imagined when we think of success and careers taking off. It takes real mettle to work and live in NYC; unfortunately, many find that their dreams turn to ashes and they are left destitute. I haven’t traveled to the Big Apple since my 7th grade Beta Club trip in middle school, but that changed two weeks ago. Working for the Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities (APCA) allows me to travel to our large conferences that are held in even larger cities; it just so happens that the first city that I got to travel to for my first conference was the biggest city (In my mind)! We left on a Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. I, having never flown on a plane, was understandably nervous. I had a mixture of dread and excitement surrounding me. My view certainly wasn’t bad.

I had always heard to “get a window seat”. I lucked out and had a window seat and sans partner beside me. That was probably a good thing too, because the take off scared me to death! I knew that planes took a lot of momentum and speed to take off, but I never expected the amount of sheer G-force that I felt! Once we reached 10,000 feet, I instantly felt nauseous. The mixture of dread and excitement had now added up into a feeling of weightlessness and queasiness. Every bit of wind that we hit that shook the plane the least made my stomach turn. I thought that I could hold it in until we landed, and I was correct. Thankfully, getting back on land did the trick! We got our luggage and we quickly hurried into a big, yellow taxi-van that was headed for our destination, Times Square. While our cab driver took the quickest route, the other half of our party’s driver took the longest, most scenic route. The view coming into the city, while not the most beautiful of pictures, was a wondrous sight to behold.

After getting our luggage out, we were greeted by the grandeur of the Marriott Marquis: Times Square, our home for the next five days. This was truly a hotel for those who want the full NYC experience! We checked in and had to store our bags, because our room wouldn’t be ready until 4 p.m. I wasn’t surprised, as that would have been too easy! Ironically, the hotel manager, who happens to be a friend of my manager, took us to lunch at the hotel’s restaurant for free due to the inconvenience. Trust me, the buffet which featured salmon, roast beef and a salad bar was divine. Interestingly, one of the most interesting parts of the Marriott Marquis was its elevator system.

You could argue that I was impressed by this because of my simple upbringing, but seriously, these elevators looked and felt like they belonged in a Star Wars movie. There were always countless pods going up and down at breakneck speeds. The first time that I entered one, it took my stomach going either direction!

After lunch we passed the time by having a drink at the hotel’s lounge and then did what all tourists in New York do, we went shopping! I had been talking about how I wanted to see Trump Tower when we were in NYC, but I discovered that since Mr. Trump’s election to the highest office in the land, no one was allowed into Trump Tower for national security reasons. This I completely understood, but it was discouraging nonetheless. What came next made my entire day. This guy did the perfect impression of our 45th president, and for the price of a dollar, he performed as the Donald on camera for me. It was yuuuugggeee.

After shopping, we headed back to our room on the 32nd floor. I have to admit, the view was spectacular!

I stood at my window looking at Times Square in absolute awe. I thought to myself, “this is what NYC is all about.” This was truly the best view that I believe anyone could have in this city. I felt so blessed to be able to witness this from my very own room! My roommate was Hoz, the only other male worker at our company aside from our manager, Eric. Hoz was often out and about in the city doing his own thing, so I usually had the room to myself. Frankly, I don’t see how the guy was able to stand after going out so much! Hoz and I have gotten along since day one, and I’m thankful to have had such a great roommate. That evening, Eric and his wife Heather took Hoz, myself and another relatively new person, our bookkeeper Ronnie, out to dinner at the famous Sardi’s restaurant. Sardi’s has been around since 1921, was forged by Italian immigrants and the character shows on each of its beautiful floors. The wait staff all wear burgundy jackets with white button-down shirts and bow ties. Honestly, they reminded me of the bartender from “The Shining,” but that just made me like the place even more! The most notable feature of Sardi’s isn’t the staff, food or atmosphere, it is instead the plethora of colorful caricatures that line nearly every inch of its walls. Sardi’s has been a host to talented people since its inception due to its proximity to Broadway. Countless classic and modern actors have visited the place, and their faces adorn the walls as a testament to their visit.

The food was astounding! We all ordered the same deal, which was an appetizer, entree and dessert for $59. I got canneloni, which is something that they are famous for, as an appetizer. A canneloni is like a tortilla stuffed with so much cheese and spinach that it melts in your mouth; frankly, it was divine. Steak was my entree, and the euphoria is to be expected with that. Finally, we all enjoyed creme brulee as our dessert, which I have only had on one occasion before. It was a great ending to our first night!

The second day was fairly simple. What wasn’t simple was the penthouse that the hotel allowed us to use to stuff our gift bags for attendants in!

This place was gorgeous, and was two floors tall. The events coordinator informed us that Jack Nicholson and David Letterman have attended parties in that very penthouse. I just wanted to party hard here! Unfortunately, Thursday was registration day for the schools who were attending APCA. It only lasted from 4-6 p.m., so the highlight of the day was eating at the famous Junior’s restaurant. A good example of serendipity was Junior’s. This restaurant, well-known for its cheesecake, was directly across the street from the Marriott Marquis. This became a daily morning stop for me, as they had $1.50 bagels! This was honestly the cheapest thing that I found in the city.

Friday was when the real fun began, as it was the real start of the conference. Being my first APCA conference, I was unsure of what to expect, but according to Eric and Heather, I handled everything well. Most of my job was showing people where to go for their educational sessions, working out small needs with the hotel and letting the speakers know when their time was almost up. Lunch came quickly for us all, and with it came the Sardi’s keynote luncheon. For the schools that chose to pay to attend this luncheon, a full-course meal was provided.

Yes, I got to eat at Sardi’s twice! This meal began with salad with vinaigrette, then a roasted chicken stuffed with herbs and finally cheesecake for dessert. The end of the meal signaled Eric to begin his keynote about one of two plays that the schools would be viewing that night. The keynote was targeted more towards the play, “Come From Away”. The basic premise takes place during 9/11, when numerous planes were diverted from their original destination of NYC to Newfoundland. The locals had to welcome the foreigners into their homes and community for several days in a wonderful example of community. The play goes over the elements of inclusiveness, community and engagement, which are key elements of APCA’s mission.

The other play that could be seen was “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” which is much more well known. I had gone with the group that was seeing “Come From Away,” mostly because everyone seemed to want to see it, but also because I had never seen it. After Eric’s keynote, he began an auction that included items straight from Broadway! Many of the items auctioned were posters from the biggest shows autographed by the entire casts! Shows like “The Lion King,” “Book of Mormon” and “Wicked” were just some of the shows in the auction. In the end, we wound up raising $4,000 for Broadway Cares: Fights AIDS Foundation.

It was also revealed that the writers of “Come From Away” were in attendance at the luncheon! I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with them as well. After lunch, everyone continued with their sessions until closing time at 5 p.m. Everyone received their complimentary Broadway tickets for their respective shows and we went to the theater! Upon entering the “Come From Away” theater, I was shocked and surprised to see my friend, James Williams, from Cleveland, Tennessee! He was on a trip with his wife! I could not believe the absolute luck of running into him! The theater was beautiful, which I expected.

What I wasn’t too impressed with was the content to be honest. I admit that the acting, dancing, singing and music were all wonderful; however, it got old fairly quickly. I was wondering before I even went how they could make an entire play out of that set of events, and I found out. What they did was just drug out everything that took place into an hour and a half play that had me yawning at the hour mark. It also did not leave me humming any of its songs at the end, which was slightly disappointing for a Broadway show.

Following the play, some of the cast and writers came down to the front of the stage for a “Talk Back” with APCA members.

This was interesting and I’m thankful to have done this, but I was just wanting it to end the entire time. “Come From Away” was a decent play, and I’m glad to say that I’ve seen it, but that’s about as far as it goes. Honestly, the plays that I wanted to see were “Hamilton” and “Book of Mormon”.

“Book of Mormon,” being created by the makers of “South Park,” is something that I have wanted to see for years. Unfortunately, the price tag prevented me from attending. The same can be said for “Hamilton,” though I was not pleased when the cast of “Hamilton” openly spoke out against Vice President Mike Pence when he saw the play. I felt that it was a tasteless move that only made them look small and overly defiant. As a PR professional, I know that they could have handled that matter much better.

Saturday was pretty much the same thing, except that some of my coworkers and I went to a local Italian restaurant called Becco’s. This was your stereotypical Italian sit-down place, featuring muted lighting and small tables. The lasagna was phenomenal, and perhaps one of the best that I have ever eaten! That evening, I treated myself by finding a local hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant to munch on.

It was good, cheap and relatively fast, which were all rare adjectives in NYC! I later found myself a cigar and had a nice time just sitting in Times Square enjoying a smoke.

Finally, I had made it to Sunday, our final day. Obviously, we had to check out, and check-out was at noon. It made no difference to me as the one thing that I wanted to do above all else was visit the American Museum of Natural History (AMONH). I had been one other time on my 7th grade trip, but knew that I would appreciate that history much more as an adult. Just as NYC is more fun as an adult, so is the AMONH. I had to get an Uber to take me to the museum, which wasn’t hard, as they are abundant in NYC. This was the view that greeted me at the museum.

I felt like I was in “Night at the Museum”. The sheer size of the museum was stunning and I resisted the urge to salute it, being a true American and what-not. Entering the museum proved to be just as exciting as watching “Night at the Museum,” as a similarly extinct theropod greeted me upon entering.

While certainly no Tyrannosaurus Rex, this Allosaurus gave me a slight case of giddiness, as my inner child came out, and I felt like a kid in a toy store. Sure, it wasn’t a massive T-rex, but hey, it was pretty close to the movie!

Next was the hall of African animals, which were beautifully preserved testaments to the art of taxidermy.

I also was fascinated by this ancient foot trap, the earliest rendition of a bear trap. While primitive, it looked like it could certainly get the job done whether you are trapping animals or rivals!

Next was a wing dedicated to Asia. Animals and culture surrounded me.

Seeing this Sumatran rhinoceros gave me hope for saving these gorgeous giants. I know that the black and white rhino are somewhat endangered in Africa, but I had thought that all Asian rhinoceroses had gone extinct. Thankfully, I was wrong as there are two species of rhinoceros in Asia, the Sumatran pictured here and the Indian rhinoceros.

On the more human side was this small diorama depicting an encampment in Siberia, the northernmost part of Russia. While this may not have been interesting to some, I found it absolutely fascinating to see the rugged living conditions in this completely inhospitable section of the world. It’s astounding to me to know that people actually live and thrive in this harsh environment. I also felt quite a bit of respect for Siberians.

My next stop was Japan, which greeted me with a statue of the Buddha upon nagas, which are snake-like deities in Buddhist teachings.

While I am a proud Christian, I must admit that this statue wowed me instantly. The beauty of the Buddha upon these snake-like creatures drew my eye, and I had to capture this gorgeous piece of religious art for my collection. While I don’t worship Buddha, I can appreciate the amount of work and beauty that goes into his depictions.

Another thing to see was something that most would have just passed up. I am speaking of this Japanese mask depicting a traditional demon.

Macabre, most would say. Why would I want to capture the image of a Japanese demon? While this was one of many Japanese pictures taken to be shown to my mother who has a Japanese pen pal, this mask had special meaning to me. Ironically, this meaning isn’t something deep or intricate. I follow a YouTuber named “Lazy Masquerade,” who narrates horrifying stories about a variety of things that were originally posted to Reddit. I listen to Lazy quite often, as his British accent only seems to enhance the sheer dread of the stories themselves. How this connects to this mask is the fact that Lazy’s symbol is this Japanese demon with additional tusks. I saw this and instantly saw the connection. Just a little interesting info about me! Check him out some time!

Next was the Hall of Pacific Peoples. This held the now infamous Moai, or “Dumb Dumb,” as he’s known by fans of “Night at the Museum”.

The Moai was incredibly popular, and thus, I couldn’t get a shot of him without countless people surrounding him for pictures. I wound up purchasing a Christmas ornament of the Moai for my wife and I’s Christmas tree! My wife said that it looked like a turd.

Next was the Hall of Southern and Central America. I got a great picture of the Aztec sun stone, which is similar to the Mayan calendar that we base ours on.

I also snapped a picture of this little gourd totem from South America.

Known as Afasa, this depicts the cannibal spirit said to inhabit the forests of South America. I found it to be so grotesquely interesting, and I wish that I could have had a replica to take home!

Next, I found more animals that were gifted to the museum.

While there were countless birds for this “bird nerd” to fawn over, this pelican feeding its baby really stuck out to me. I believe this reason is because of the sheer absurdity of the manner of feeding! Pelicans are well-known throughout the world as important birds. Louisiana has a pelican on its state quarter. In ancient times, it was believed that pelicans would pluck out their own chest feathers and cause themselves to bleed to make their young stronger. It is this reason that pelicans are used as a symbol in alchemy as well.

One of the best parts of the museum came towards the end. The museum had dedicated an entire section to President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, whose contributions to conservation resonate even today. It was Teddy who started the National Park service, due to his love of the outdoors and his status as an avid hunter and conservationist.

It was humbling to even sit next to this great man’s statue. I think that it was amazing that the museum continues to honor this man in today’s world of political correctness and safe spaces. Teddy Roosevelt was a rough guy, and I figured that someone would be complaining that Roosevelt offends them in some way. Normally, if someone claims offense in today’s world, their demands are met and the offending item removed. I’m thankful that Teddy has not been.

Upon leaving the museum, I was bid farewell by none other than Teddy Roosevelt yet again.

I felt awed entering the museum and I felt awed exiting. It really hit me hard just how much of an impact Teddy Roosevelt had on our nation. Soldier, hunter and eventually President of the United States, Teddy was definitely a man’s man. I felt that this was a beautifully poetic last view on my last day in New York.

My final picture is of the view from street level in Times Square. This picture is definitely a personality shot. Surrounded by taxis, people, skyscrapers and flashing lights, it’s easy to feel disoriented. When you look up at the massive buildings, you can’t help but feel small. This feeling of insignificance is quickly replaced by a feeling of patriotism that only NYC can elicit. New York is where you can build the American dream. America is a meritocracy, meaning that everything that we have, we earn. If you are lazy, then you won’t achieve the dream. It’s as simple as that. Handouts are not tolerated, because they aren’t earned. I am so thankful to be from this country, because I feel that the feelings of pride in our country are very lacking these days. Patriotism is something that I hope makes a comeback in the next few years. What I took from this trip is that if you work hard in life, you can do anything. The American dream is a real thing, you just have to be willing to work hard enough to see it come to fruition.

-Colby A. Denton

 

 

Horror Movies 6/24/17

This past week has certainly been a crazy one! I started my new job at the Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities (APCA) two weeks ago, and I am so incredibly thrilled! I am the brand-new Coordinator of School Services, and I am on the official website under the staff link! This has truly been a blessing for both my wife and I. Working for APCA allows me to travel quite a bit as well, as I am going to New York City soon. My job now affords me a typical set schedule of hours, so that means that I often have time in the evening to watch Netflix, TV or movies with my wife. Horror movies are certainly her favorite genre, and have become one of mine. These past two weeks gave us a plethora of titles for our portfolio; some of them have been beautifully made and are thought-provoking, while others have been lackluster or just downright terrible. The first one that comes to mind is one of the most beautifully-made, yet disturbing films ever produced. I am speaking about Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange.” I feel that this film will always hold its position of macabre, disturbing and psychologically terrifying awe over its audience.

“A Clockwork Orange” is set in a near-future, dystopian England and follows a young man named Alex DeLarge and his thuggish band of “droogs”. The illustrious Malcolm McDowell plays DeLarge. For those who know nothing of the film, the dialogue can be a bit surprising and tiresome as it is in a fictional language called Nadsat, which combines terms and jargon from English, cockney, Russian and other languages. Words such as celovek, eggiweg and golova are all commonly used in the original novel and film adaptation. DeLarge and his droogs’ idea of fun involves theft, robbery, rape and violent acts that they call “ultraviolence”.  These acts are committed with abandon and often bring them into conflict with other “gangs” of droogs and innocent civilians. One night, DeLarge is apprehended by the police and convicted of murder; while it was accidental, the law seeks to convict the malcontent and put him away for approximately 40 years. Two years into his sentence, DeLarge hears of a new “treatment” that allows even the most despicable of prisoners to walk free within three-day’s time. Believing that this will be his salvation from a lifetime in prison, DeLarge submits to the treatment. What follows is far from the expected treatment, but rather is revealed to be complete brainwashing. DeLarge is unwittingly fed drugs that make him feel incredibly nauseous and deathly, and these drugs take effect during the videos that he is forced to watch that display violence, rape and all negative things in life. The combination of drugs violent videos make these acts completely anathema for him. After three days of “treatment,” DeLarge is released as a changed man. The world has changed since his absence as well, as his room has been rented out, his former droogs are now corrupt policemen and the people that he victimized begin to recognize their former tormentor. Combining the intense aftereffects of the treatment, his lack of place in the world and total feeling of helplessness, DeLarge attempts suicide by jumping from a second-story window. Unfortunately, the fall only seriously wounds him, as he wakes up in the hospital; however, he finds that he can now swear, punch and say negative things without feeling ill. It seems that the fall has “cured” his treatment. Due to the PR ramifications of their subject’s suicide attempt, the corporate leaders of the prison extend a large, financial settlement to DeLarge for his agreed silence; a silence that the newly reborn DeLarge joyfully accepts. This film not only brings beautiful angles and scenes, but it also makes you think. Is it right to make evil individuals good if it forces them to be good against their will? This is the overall lesson of the film, because while you may find DeLarge to be a morally repugnant person, most feel somewhat sorry for him prior to his suicide attempt. It is obvious that the pain the treatment has caused is severely impacting him psychologically; this can be one of the most disturbing aspects of the film. The other aspects are much more obvious, as rape, violence and nudity are ever-present in this film. One of the most iconic scenes from the film leads up to an off-screen rape. McDowell’s stunning performance adds even more depth to this otherwise entirely evil character. The book and film have been banned in several countries and are normally on a list of “banned” books. Reading banned literature is something that everyone has the option to do, as it opens up new ways of thinking and shows things in life that aren’t always the most pleasant. “A Clockwork Orange” is truly controversial, but does a true virtuous lesson lurk beneath the controversy?

The second film that we watched was a large blockbuster from 2016 called, “Don’t Breathe”.

The story line is fairly simple. Three young thieves make their living by stealing from wealthy homes in a low-income area of Detroit. They soon hear of a house that holds a supposed $300,000 in cash. The money belongs to a blind, Vietnam veteran who lives alone. After his daughter was accidentally run over by a wealthy, teenage girl, the girl’s parents paid the veteran to not press charges. All morals aside, this movie had me hating the so-called “protagonists” right from the beginning. Just to give a bit of context, there are two boys and a girl. The girl lives in a trailer with her alcoholic parents. One boy is named “Money”. Let’s just stop for a second; this guy’s name is Money. He obviously has family, self-esteem and work ethic issues that stretch back far further than we care to see. He is the eponymous jerk of the group. The final boy is a Nick Jonas look-alike whose father is head of the local security company, which gives him and his thieving friends access to most houses nearby. Essentially, they break in for what they expect to be an easy score, but find that the Blind Man is much more capable than he appears. Instantly killing Money, the Blind Man embarks on a suspenseful hunt of the remaining two thieves. His senses being much more attune than an ordinary person’s, he finds them numerous times through various methods and seriously beats the living crap out of them. Honestly, I thought that they deserved everything that was coming to them. This film did not make you root for the main characters. You never worry about them dying; rather, I found myself hoping that they would bite the big one, because at the end of the day, despite the Blind Man’s hidden actions, you can never really see yourself rooting for a thief. Robbing a blind man made it all that much more solidified.

Another film that we saw was absolutely horrible. I will never get back that hour and a half of my life. This film was called, “Killer Holiday”. Obviously, the cover should have told me everything.

Ironically, there is no killer clown in this film. Also, the amusement park background featured minutely as only short, rare flashbacks. The acting in this film mirrored that of a D-rated porno, with stiff lines, horrible angles and lack of any character development. The plot is that of a standard horror flick: a group of friends leave on an RV trip, they see advertising for a creepy attraction, go to it and find that there is a killer within its walls. The friends acted more like slight acquaintances, as their banter and camaraderie was absent throughout. It felt more like they had all just met and were deciding to go on this trip together. The killer of the film was this crazy, Taylor Lautner look-alike named Melvin “Spider” Holiday, hence the name, “Killer Holiday”. He apparently went crazy when he was younger and killed his abusive father. Also, it turns out that his long-lost twin sister is one of the teens visiting the amusement park. How serendipitous for him. It is safe to say that the only slightly believable thing was the film’s use of blood; that stuff went everywhere and they didn’t skimp on it. There’s also a girl in the group who is Holiday’s fellow killer-in-arms/girlfriend, and that point (which is supposed to be a surprise twist) is made deafeningly obvious from the start of the film to her big “reveal”. Like I said, I will never get back the time I put into this terrible film.

Netflix has brought some of the best shows to my life including “House of Cards” and “Last Man Standing”. My wife told me of a show for us to watch this week, and it’s called “Scream Queens”.

At first I was skeptical. I had heard of “Scream Queens” and it seemed a bit too mainstream and too similar to “American Horror Story”; however, upon watching the first few minutes of the show, I was instantly hooked. The show centers around a fictional college called Wallace University. The dean of the college is played by the original “scream queen” herself, Jamie Lee Curtis. Curtis’s portrayal of Dean Munsch is absolutely hysterical, adding in quips and subtle references to earlier horror movies and works. While Curtis may be one of the big all-stars of the show, Emma Roberts certainly steals the whole show. We meet Roberts as Chanel Oberlin, the head of the Kappa Kappa Tau (KKT) sorority. Upon meeting Chanel, it becomes instantly apparent that she is the ice queen on campus and always gets her way. At first, I was annoyed by her; but, by the second episode I loved her. Chanel is incredibly blunt, self-absorbed, ruthless and politically incorrect. She surrounds herself with other senior KKT sisters who she calls Chanels #2-5. Only pledges who prove their worth to Chanel become Chanels themselves. Ariana Grande plays Chanel #2 for about three episodes before her celebrity cameo wears off and she is brutally murdered. Murder is something that is introduced on episode one. It becomes apparent that Wallace U has a checkered past full of coverups, murder and corruption, all handled by Dean Munsch. The overall theme of the show centers on a masked murderer known as “The Red Devil,” who dresses in the school mascot’s uniform to commit said acts. Other celebrities are featured including Nick Jonas and Lea Michelle from Glee. While I love the show for its campy horror, beautiful visuals and grandiose acting, it honestly is one of the funniest shows that I have seen. It instantly became a fun, yet gruesome show to binge-watch, without being as serious as its counterpart, “American Horror Story”. The way that the show is shot is beautiful; I feel that the directing of Ryan Murphy gave this show an added sense of elegance similar to his other work on “American Horror Story”. Halloween is also my favorite holiday; therefore, the overall campiness is intoxicatingly addictive. I am stoked for season two’s release. This show is a must-watch, if not for the humor, then for the incredibly quotable one-liners.

Finally, the only other film that we have seen these past two weeks was a pleasantly surprising one, “Carnage Park”.

The first few minutes of the movie certainly have a “The Hills have Eyes” feel to it. Endless desert engulfs the shots as you join young, Vivian Fontaine, a local woman who was kidnapped as part of a bank robbery, in the car with her kidnapper, “Scorpion Joe”. Joe is quickly killed by an unseen sniper, who is later revealed to be a serial killer with a compound hidden in the desert hills. Ironically, while this movie’s cover had me thinking it would be a C-rated horror wannabe, it turned out to be very well-executed. I instantly felt sympathy for Fontaine, who struggled financially to retain her dying father’s farm. She seemed to be the person in the wrong place at the wrong time, but thankfully, the film has a somewhat happy ending. The filming was well done, the acting would rival an A-list celebrity’s and the effects and setting worked perfectly together. It’s obvious that no one spent millions to make this movie, but I feel that this gives it a much grittier feel. There also were not abundant plot holes, as is often rampant in these lesser-known horror flicks. I didn’t have any questions at the end, as I often do when plot points are included that have no resolution. This was just straight survival at its finest. Frankly, I was surprised at the sensible decisions made by Fontaine; she certainly didn’t stick to the typical woman stereotypes that abound in horror films. Instead, she picked up a gun, pulled her britches up and ran at her oppressors full force. This film just goes to show that you can’t always judge a book, or a horror film, by its cover.

I’m certainly looking forward to the slew of new horror films that I will certainly view in the future.

Until next time fair readers, I bid thee adieu.

Stone Mountain, Georgia

This past Tuesday, June 6, 2016, my wife and I embarked on a journey to one of our nation’s most awe-inspiring and beautiful landmarks, Stone Mountain, Georgia. Always wanting to go camping, we reserved ourselves a spot and set up camp. While we chose the “lake-view” option, we managed to save more money than if we chose the “lake-side” option! The funny part was that we were still in clear view of the gorgeous lake; we simply couldn’t get out our fishing rods and catch dinner from bed!

The first night that we constructed our campsite, we opted to grill out. The dinner of choice was roasted vegetables in aluminum foil. We bought some firewood from the local camp store; however, this firewood, despite all appearances to the contrary, was newly cut. This became apparent as I struggled to maintain the fire all night while my wife prepared the meal. One good thing about our campsite was the abundance of pine needles. These small, dry plants were perfect fire starters and kindling. The irony is that despite tossing countless armloads of needles onto the fire, they were the only ones to ever burn. Thankfully, we had bought a bottle of lighter fluid and charcoal. Seeing my fire-making skills at a loss for words, I got our grill going and we roasted our dinner on it. While it took a while for the coals to heat up, the end result was a delicious plethora of potatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, onions and corn all roasted in coconut oil and seasoned with Old Bay, garlic, salt and pepper. My wife also brought along two strands of Christmas lights that we strung throughout the inside and outside of our tent. If the fire wasn’t going to provide light, then we would provide it ourselves!

The second day was the real start of our adventure. This would be the day that we saw all that Stone Mountain had to offer. Stone Mountain is a naturally-formed mountain of granite that has been forming for millions of years in Georgia. The natural granite produced at the site has been used in numerous buildings and monuments all around the world including Japan and the Lincoln Memorial’s base in Washington, D.C. What makes Stone Mountain so interesting is the bas relief carving that was carved into its side several years ago. The carving features three of the most influential members of the Confederate States of America from the Civil War including President Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee and Lieutenant General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson all astride their favorite horses. The carving is larger in width than Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. Ironically, the man who carved Mount Rushmore, Gutzon Borglum, worked on Stone Mountain as well before quitting due to budgetary issues. Borglum later went on to craft Mount Rushmore following his departure from the Stone Mountain project. If the carving was not impressive enough, the view from the top of the mountain could render all those seeing it speechless from sheer awe. There are two options for getting to the top of the mountain. You can either take a sky lift to the top or you can hike it. Which of these choices do you think we did? If you knew my wife, you’d know that it’s hiking every time. The hike to the top is only one mile, but it seems much longer due to the nature of the terrain and sheerness of the climb. Upon beginning our ascent, this was our first view.

Standing valiantly around the United States flag are the four flags of the Confederacy. From left to right are the battle flag carried since Manassas, the U.S. flag of the Union, the Third National Confederate flag featuring the red bar at the end of the white field, the Second National Confederate flag featuring a white field overall and finally the original “Stars and Bars” that bore much similarity to the Union flag. The original battle flag was used since the Battle of Manassas, or the First Battle of Bull Run. This was used on and off by numerous Rebels throughout the war and is most synonymous with Dixie as we know it today. The First National Confederate flag, or “Stars and Bars” contained stripes and seven stars that represented the seven states that had seceded from the Union at the time. Eventually, 11 states would secede in all and would be immortalized on the “Battle flag”. The issue with the “Stars and Bars” was the absolute similarity between it and the Union’s flag. This caused much confusion on the battlefield; therefore, the Second National Confederate flag was created to be very distinct from the Union’s. While this flag was indeed different and sported the battle flag in the left corner, another issue arose. On windless days, the Confederate flag appeared to be the white flag of truce to the Yankees, and thus, a change was needed yet again. It wasn’t until March 1865, only one month before the war ended, that the Third National Confederate flag was adopted and given its red bar across the end of the white field to finally differentiate itself from the Union’s colors and a flag of truce. Sadly, this change came almost too late as Lee’s surrender at Appomattox courthouse ended the “War of Northern Aggression,” as Southerners called it. Regardless of which side your ancestors fought on, seeing this memorial to the flags and the soldiers who used them was very humbling. It really showed the beauty and work that went into the design of these flags and the pride it would instill in a soldier to be flying their flags prior to battle.

As our hike continued, I noticed several large holes in the granite ground as we progressed. These holes surrounded me and made for difficult walking. I discovered that these holes are not “footprints” as the local Native Americans had once believed, but instead locations in the mountain that had been under different pressure than surrounding areas. These spots had cracked over the millenniums due to heat and cold constantly expanding and contracting. Erosion and chemical weathering had then made the spots even more profound once the cracking had occurred. It took us about an hour to reach the top of the mountain and we discovered that there were many people who were in much better shape than we were. I must admit that reaching the top was very gratifying. We were greeted with a gorgeous view of the splendor of God’s creation. Seeing Georgia from all directions and the sheer insignificance of man’s mark on the world in the form of industry really puts your life into perspective. We really are tiny, insignificant specks in this giant world. This realization eerily mirrors the narrative of Algernon Blackwood, who often wrote of man’s inability to survive and adapt to nature, while nature does it as “second nature,” since it has been adapting and surviving since the beginning of time.

After descending the mountain, we went to admire the beauty of the carving; we were not disappointed. Captured in the trademark gray of the Confederacy, Davis, Lee and Jackson are truly astounding sights. I’m thankful that these landmarks exist. Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it. In our current world, Confederate monuments are often blamed for the racial issues that society holds. Sadly, some Confederates fought to maintain the institution of slavery and were not perfect individuals. Regardless, monuments to these men, American men, should be left and revered, in my opinion. I hope that I can bring my children to Stone Mountain to learn about our region’s history and our part in it.

On the final day of our trip, we reluctantly began packing up our large tent and supplies. Once the car was full, we had one more stop before we came home, the Atlanta Zoo. My wife had been telling me about the sheer volume of animals kept at this particular zoo. I knew that if it was anything like the Georgia Aquarium, I would not be disappointed. We were first greeted by my second favorite animal, the flamingo. Just for the record, my favorite is an octopus.

These gorgeous beauties begin life as gray and white chicks, but gain their trademark pink colors due to their constant diet of underwater, microscopic crustaceans. Following the flamingos, we saw several other fauna that are pictured below along with descriptions and names.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This tortoise was enjoying his time in the shade outside of the reptile room.

The Parson’s chameleon was almost perfectly camouflaged!

There were two American alligators in this tank, but only one was active and watching me so attentively.

The green anaconda is the heaviest snake in the world, but as my wife pointed out, it probably will not gain too much more weight since it’s domesticated and not swimming freely in Venezuela or Brazil. Isn’t nature amazing?

The Mangshan pit viper is the epitome of adapted to survive. Its color allows it to perfectly blend in with the mosses of its natural habitat in mountainous China.

The Mexican beaded lizard is one of only two venomous species of lizard in the world; the other species is the Gila Monster from America. This lizard doesn’t have hypodermic needle-like fangs to inject its venom like snakes; rather, it has grooves in its teeth which forces the lizard to have to chew the venom into its prey in order to effectively kill it.

This Guinea turaco was just checking me out in the bird room. On top of his cute, little, feathered mohawk, he also sports some impressive red-tipped wings.

The Tanuki, or Japanese raccoon dog are so aptly-named due to their resemblance of raccoons. These omnivores feature heavily in Japanese folklore.

We all know the lovable panda. This was the male of a pair that had just recently birthed twins.

This is the king vulture. While many people view vultures as revolting, I find them to be very necessary and wonderfully adapted for their role in nature. The king vulture is also beautifully colored compared to other vultures.This guy definitely knows that he is king of the roost.

These are African lappet-faced vultures who are dining on an unfortunate zebra “carcass.”

Finally, we ran into a warthog who was buried in the mud. He certainly looked content. Interestingly, his habitat was directly next to the meerkat enclosure!

Our journey took us all over Atlanta and gave us history, nature and wildlife. I look forward to what God has in store for us next time! Until then my readers, au revoir!

Prologue

Ladies and gentlemen,

My name is Colby A. Denton; allow me to welcome you to my new blog on WordPress.com! Making a foray into this area is something that I never believed that I would attempt. I mainly credit this apprehension to the lack of focus on blogging in public relations (PR) classes. In PR classes, you are taught AP style, correct grammar, proper quoting guidelines and numerous other uses of writing skills. Ironically, blogging is not a skill that is more than touched on by our instructors, despite it being such a commonplace hobby in today’s world.

Here is a little background on your author here. I am a college-educated nerd. I love a good history artifact nearly as much as I love the upcoming Star Wars films. The Civil War is vastly interesting to me, as I have a friend who does Civil War reenacting in his spare time. I am always pining after more knowledge about history and different cultures. Sadly, I have not had the opportunity to travel outside of the U.S. yet, but it is definitely a milestone that I plan on surpassing in the near future; however, I have traveled to over 20 U.S. states. My wife Leslie and I absolutely love to travel and have quite a long bucket list that we are just beginning. We most recently attended a Renaissance Fair in Arrington, Tennessee, just south of Nashville, Tennessee. This was quite the adventure, and we also got a bit of archeological fun squeezed in as well due to the setting of our residence, Old Stone Fort State Park.

Nerdy things in my life are as plentiful as there are stars in space. Star Wars has been my favorite genre of entertainment since 2003. I recently got into Dungeons and Dragons (a hobby I almost swore I would never enjoy back in high school). H.P. Lovecraft is one of my favorite authors as well as Edgar Allan Poe. Each of these horror writers has left a specific mark on my interests and quirks in life. Dragon Ball Z and Yu-Gi-Oh! are also vastly interesting to me; but, I would venture to say that this is the case for many 90’s-era boys. Animals have always fascinated me as well, which is why there will be numerous articles on interesting creatures, evolutionary traits and newly discovered or once-believed-extinct species.

Cooking is also a passion of mine when I feel like washing dishes. There is nary a food that I will not eat and relish. My favorite dishes are seafood, but I am also a fan of more “exotic” meats such as liver. Eating well was just something that you did when you grew up in the Denton family. My mother, grandmother and every female family member always cooked a large variety of dishes incredibly well. Obviously, dishes like foie gras or escargot did not feature on the menu, but I try my best to introduce them to new foods just as they did me. Interestingly, one of my favorite TV shows was NBC’s Hannibal, featuring Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy. Throughout the show, Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mikkelsen) created some of the most aesthetically pleasing dishes that surely made the viewers salivate in a different way each week. The irony of the situation was that these masterpieces of cuisine were Lecter’s unfortunate victims masquerading as common meats for his unsuspecting diners, but the real-life versions of these dishes are so good that no one would think twice about eating them!

This has been but a taste (wink, wink) of your host’s interests and hobbies in life. I look forward to providing recipes, articles on newly discovered species, political articles about current events and much more for you each and every week. I hope to bring a small surprise to my readers that will enliven their weeks, despite all of the trials that life throws at all of us. Rest easy, and may the Force be with you!

First blog post

This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you started this blog and what you plan to do with it.