Last one kids

Sigh...alas, this is it. Blog number 20. The last one I will ever be writing for this class. It's a rather sad moment isn't it? Kind of brings a tear to my eye. Let's all just take a moment of silence to look back on all of the blogs and reminisce on all of the fun times we've had.

Ahhh, now wasn't that just fantastic? Enough of the sentiment now though, we've got some more serious matters to attend too. Now this may seem like a weird idea and sort of awkward post, but I want to throw out there something that I've always wanted to see me made into a live action film. Get ready, because here it is: POKEMON BABY!!

Now, already the film industry has botched live-action versions of a few cartoon shows such as Dragonball Z and the all to famous The Last Airbender. But! They did make Ninja Turtles, which I thought wasn't that good, but it ended up being enough of a success that they're currently making a second one! How awesome would it be to see those pokemon creatures in CGI glory? I think it'd be so cool. Anyway, comment on what you think if you feel like it. For now, peace out.

-Clint Sprunger, December 11

Let's talk about Christmas V.2.0

So a couple blogs ago I talked about Christmas films, specifically the ones about snowmen, elves, reindeer, and other famous fantasy characters. In this blog I would like to address the other side of Christmas films, and that is the side that actually focuses on the reason for the season. The films I'm going to mention are about the birth of Jesus or the spiritual side of Christmas and what the holiday really means. So I'm pretty sure there have been various versions of the nativity story in the past, and the most recent one I think was released in 2006 and I thought it was very well made! However it still had its various flaws and some parts didn't seem to like up exactly to the bible. Now that I think about it, it's been about 10 years since that movie came out. I really think they should make a new one because I think if it is done right, it could be pretty amazing! Also, I gotta mention the veggie-tales Christmas movie with Bob and Larry as Cavis and Milward and how they burn down their uncle's theater. Anyway, long story thought the movie makes a great point of what the true star of Christmas really is. You all should watch it sometimes. It gave me the feels at the end!

-Clint Sprunger, December 10

Dimensions

So today's presentations were pretty awesome! I was sitting down wondering what I should blog about, and what better thing to blog on then the intriguing presentations that we all just recently saw in class. The one that really got my attention and caught my interest was the presentation on Flatland. It reminded me of a short clip that I recently watched about dimensions. It was on this physics site or something, I think, and it followed basically the exact same story line except condensed into 4 minutes or so. It was really cool when the guy in the video talked about dimensions and explained them by using the flatland idea and creating characters with the shapes and describing their view points. He made understanding 2D, 3D, and even 4D pretty easy, and it's crazy to think that their could be other dimensions out their. I mean look at it from the spiritual side. Personally, I think that the equivalent of A. Square briefly showing himself to the lines in the line-world is the same as when Angels manifest for a short time.

-Clint Sprunger, December 10

Let's talk about Christmas

Hey guys! So you all know it's that special time of year! The time of giving, lights, trees, holiday cheer, and of course, Christmas movies! To start, this blog will be dedicated to the side of Christmas that doesn't include faith and Jesus, you know, the side that's full of reindeer, elves, and of course, the jolly 'ol man himself, Santa. There have been many many Christmas movies over the years, but the ones that stick out to me and that were the most prevalent in my childhood were those stop motion movies. These include Rudolph, Santa Clause is Comin' to Town, and a Year Without a Santa Clause. These movies remind me most of my childhood and are still played on certain tv stations each year to this day! Why is that? What's so great about them? I would say that the reason they're so wonderful is that kids love them, and there's something about these films that draw in the adults as well. They're great family movies, and that's a huge part of what Christmas is all about. These things are sheer classics, and that's what makes them so popular!

-Clint Sprunger, December 10

What's so great about Family Guy??

So I've known about the show Family Guy for quite some time, and growing up I've heard many people quoting it and then my friends started quoting it and I wondered what made it so great. I ended up watching an episode at a friends house and was so uncomfortable the entire time. My parents never watched the show and I think I figured out why. The show is so frickin vulgar! Like I get that certain shows and movies will have swearing in them sometimes to emphasize emotional tension or intensity, but I absolutely hate it when it's the unnecessary kind. Shows like family guy make me sick. The kind of dirty humor too really gets to me. And America just eats it up. Why do so many shows like this have to be so dirty and sexual and stuff. It warps the minds of parents and kids alike. I guess there's just some part of a person that craves this sort of stuff. I don't know. And also I feel that a lot of kids will start watching it once they head off to college because their parents aren't around to tell them no(which accounts for a lot of OTHER things kids might do at college). Maybe we like to laugh at that kind of humor Family Guy has because the subjects they address make us uncomfortable. Or does it make us kids feel more like adults and more mature if we watch it and laugh along? Again, I don't know, but I just don't feel comfortable conforming to this mainstream craze.

-Clint Sprunger, December 9

Star Wars Baby

So how bout that star wars film about George Lucas today? Pretty cool right? I wonder if that's really how he came up with the idea of Star Wars...ha! Psych. That would be really funny though. I kinda do want to talk about the more recent three Star Wars films: Episodes I, II, and III. They seem to get a really really bad rap. And yes I'm not gonna lie, the acting in those movies is pretty horrible. "Anakin, what ever will we do??" "Hush Padme. I will prevent my horrible nightmares from ever coming true!!" I didn't think the stories were that bad though. And the special effects at the time were pretty top notch. Lightsaber choreography was insane. They really upped the notch on those duels throughout those three movies! I would've loved to have been around to see the original IV, V, and VI movies in theaters, and then years later see how far technology has come and be in the theater watching episode I. I would have totally FLIPPED OUT when I saw that double-bladed lightsaber! So in conclusion I liked all the action in these movies, and to me the stories and plot-lines weren't too bad either, but I'm sure many would disagree...

Oh and P.S.: Jar Jar Binks is totally a Sith Lord. 

-Clint Sprunger, December 8

What is E.J. Park talking about??

Ok so first off I've never heard of the comparison between Jesus and Neo from the Matrix. I get it though, Park is simply saying Neo is the Jesus figure in the movie. But he goes farther as to say that Neo is better? What? What is he basing that off of? What is his logic? Let's get one thing straight to start: The term "hero" is NOT the same as "messiah." It seems that E.J. Park is assuming that they are indeed the same, which throws his argument off right from the start. A hero is a person who is admired for his or her courage, achievements, or noble qualities. A messiah is described specifically as the promised deliverer of the Jewish nation prophesied in the Hebrew Bible. Even better, a second definition describes the messiah as a leader or savior of a group of people. Yes, Neo can be seen as a savior, but not one that is trying to save people so that they can eventually have eternal life. This is why Jesus is different, and exactly why he "claimed to be the One and then insist[ed] on suffering and dying." He had to if there was to be reconciliation. It seems like this is something Park wasn't fully understanding. Park wants Jesus to be a fighter and kick a** to save the people, but he's not looking at it from an eternal standpoint.

Second, I understand that what Joseph said to his brothers in the bible would be pretty annoying, but is there really a time where Jesus Himself claimed that the whole world would bow to Him? Park said that if someone would give him a self-doubting, reluctant hero like Neo, he would cheer him on. Jesus has both of these qualities. He fell down on His face before God because He didn't want to endure the torture and pain of the cross. But He wanted God's will to be done overall.

Park may be right about how Jesus believes Himself worthy of worship, but He never once demanded it! Jesus had every right to demand praise, but instead he focused on seeking and saving the lost and offering forgiveness to sinful people. That's a messiah, and that's my kinda hero.

Lastly, Park is frustrated that Jesus doesn't fight and kick butt. I want to say in response to that that Jesus actually kicks major butt, a.k.a. the devil's butt. But he does it with words, and not His fists. Now I too would totally be frustrated just like Peter that Jesus wasn't using his power to fight the soldiers, to the point where I think I'd get seriously mad! So let's explore this then. Why doesn't Jesus kick butt like Neo? Why doesn't He kung-fu the snot out of everyone? Because that wouldn't accomplish anything. Jesus knows that all of this MUST happen, whether He likes it or not, in order to save His disciples and the whole world from God's wrath. Jesus loves everyone so much that He stands in our place to take the beating that WE deserve so that God can eventually look at us the same way He sees the Son. Again, I wouldn't have understood that and the big picture of everything, just like Peter, and just like Park doesn't seem to understand. But that's exactly why Jesus doesn't fight back. There's your answer.

Our human ways are in this position is to be active, not passive. But God's way is different. Christ chose to show us what it means to be truly active, in the name of selfless-devotion to a man's salvation. You simply cannot compare Neo and the Matrix to this scenario. I feel like Park misses the big picture. Yes, it's awesome to see people kick butt for justice, which is exactly what Jesus did, just not in the way we might have liked to see it.

About War Photographer

First and foremost, I just want to start out by saying that the short film "War Photographer" was the first in this class that I spent time to watch in again during my spare time. I absolutely love it! It's just so....engaging, I don't know. The simplicity of the characters, the colors, and the whole idea of a battle between bands is my favorite. That's sort of what this whole thing reminded me of. If anyone has ever seen the movie "Drumline" you have an idea of what I'm getting at. Though Nick Cannon can't play drums worth crap in real life, the scenes of the drumline battles and intensity at the end during the "BOA", (Battle of the Bands), was absolutely captivating to me.  I mean, I was part of the band and drumline during highschool, so that probably accounts for the majority of my love for bands. Seeing "War Photographer" brought all of that back, and made me actually get into the film and I found my self cheering and wondering what would be the next big instrument they would use and who would end up victorious? It was very suspenseful! It's so cool too that the title doesn't hint to a battle between bands at all. It was also fun to watch as it started out from two ships sailing on the seas to them clearly ready to start a battle, but when it was time, instead of firing cannons at each other they got out guitars and started blasting the opposing ships with their sick rifts!!
 The way the author made the music line up with the film's scene changes was spot on, and the entire plot and climax toward the end where he made that one robot comeback from near defeat was stellar. This was such a cleverly written film and definitely one of my favorites so far! So ya I guess I just felt like blogging about how much I liked it. Plus, it was made in the guy's flipping basement.

-Clint Sprunger, December 5

Now, on that one film where they lit the guy on fire...

So in the middle of watching the various music videos, it was really hard for me to get interested in them. I'm not sure exactly why, but I feel like it's because they're so different to anything I've seen before. It's super frustrating though because they all apparently have this super deep meaning that you have to think really hard and almost have to had seen other films or have knowledge of other sources to get the overall message that the music video is trying to convey. That one film where they lit the guy on fire is a great example of this. My first reaction to this film was instantly like, "ok, so this guy is lit on fire, and he's obviously running. But why?" And so I ended up having to try and figure out what the heck I was watching as the camera zoomed out and showed the full image of the guy engulfed in flames. All I was watching was a guy on fire running through the streets to catch a bus. I simply didn't get it. And to make matters worse, the film ended with a little girl in the car, which led me to believe that what we were seeing before was her point of view. She also looked depressed as she gazed out the window. Either way, I didn't get any of it. These films are so hard for me because it makes me wonder if people are actually interpreting these things based on logical assumptions or just simply what they want it to mean by using their own imaginations. Also, it's kinda hard to get the point of these sort of films when you almost have to have seen or read other sources to get it. I just didn't feel like this film was benefiting to me in any way.

-Clint Sprunger, December 1st

Music Videos= Music+Videos

 Okay so when I first heard that we were going to be studying music videos, I instantly thought of like, videos that I thought were music videos. For example, videos of Justin Bieber singing "Baby" in the bowling alley. A simple music star lip syncing, that's what I thought of. But when we started watching these films, they obviously weren't what I expected. Instead of someone lip syncing and dancing to their own song, the majority of the films we were shown simply consisted of some sort of musical soundtrack, with rarely any words, and a video shot of some sort. The music videos I was introduced to were simply music + video, which I guess made a lot of sense. Later though we did see someone singing the song in that one split screen film whose name escapes me. Anyway, I guess I just wanted to blog about how I actually get what actual music videos are and the variations that go along with that. Honestly it's pretty interesting! There are a lot of different music videos out there and I'm excited to see more!

-Clint Sprunger, December 1st

Doc doc documentaries!!

So in my Jr year in high school, my English class was shown quite a few documentaries. Two of which were Super-Size-Me, and the other one went by the name of Bowling for Columbine, which I don't think we discussed in class. This one talked about the school shooting that happened at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Anyway I want to talk about Super-Size-Me first. When I first saw this I thought it was great! I really enjoyed it, and before hand I had no idea that they even did "super-sizes" at Mcdonald's! I mean I know that stuff is horrible for you but still, I would've loved to experience super-sizing some of those meals myself! But as far as the audience appeal level goes for these documentaries, I thought it was pretty high. Super-Size-Me appealed with a sort of humor factor, as we were forced to imagine what life for a month of only Mcdonald's food would be like, and watch the maker suffer through days of not feeling good and doctors telling him he needs to stop. Bowling for Columbine has quite a different way of appealing to it's audience. Obviously, being about a school shooting, this documentary took a very serious position and actually showed some footage of the shooters in the school, which is partially why it's rated R. Oh! And I forgot about another documentary I remember watching about bottled water and how the industry is destroying America's economy and polluting the earth. Anyway, I got a lot out of each of these documentaries and I think that this form of film definitely impacts society and moves people to make a change. I look forward to watching more in the future.

-Clint Sprunger, Nov. 19

Sex has gotten way out of hand...

Just kidding! I only chose that title to get your attention. But actually, now that I think about it, it kind of is... So for me, I 110% believe that sex is a gift from God, and that most importantly, God designed it. Now if we can all agree that God did in fact create sex, then how in any way can it be dirty? Sex is NOT a dirty thing, everything God created he considered good. It is us and society that has flipped the whole idea of sex upside down and turned it into a topic of hush hush. And of course, we can't forget about the devil!! Satan is NOT the sex expert. The kind of stuff he whispers in our ears are things like, "God's holding you back man..you're gonna miss out on the greatest sex life you can imagine if you wait until marriage!" I think this is a big lie that society has given into. We believe the lie and start to chase after something we think will give us fulfillment, but will ultimately leave us empty and longing for more. God love's us immensely and always wants the best for us. Did you know that God wants us to have to have the best sex possible? It may sound a bit weird, but I think it's true. And this is exactly why he wants us to follow his word on the matter. I think a lot of people look at Christians and are like, "Oh, you're one of those people who waits until marriage aren't you. That's a dumb rule." I feel like so many Christians don't know how to respond to this either. But once you look at it from a perspective of a loving Father and God who loves us, it becomes so much more than God making sure we "behave" ourselves. God doesn't want us to have sex before a marriage because for starters there's no commitment, and he knows in the end it will just cause us pain and heartbreak, and he doesn't want us to go through that! Out of all the stories I've heard my friends tell about their own experiences with relationships and sex before a commitment of marriage, they've all ended with regret. I'm convinced that God wants us to save sex for one person after marriage because that is what will bring us true fulfillment. And to us this may be really hard to believe, but we've just gotta trust that God's smarter than us on the subject, and that He's got something so much bigger and better for us than a life full of wild sex and people chasing after false fulfillment. Eve believed the same type of lie that God was holding back from her. Adam did too. Satan's telling us the same thing. I think society nowadays has totally underestimated the intimacy of sex and sees it as just a casual thing that humans should just chill out and have fun doing. We're gonna be tempted into sexual immorality, the bible talks about it a lot (Hebrews 13:4, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5). But we've gotta resist it, for our own good. Sex isn't a dirty thing and it's frustrating how the church seems afraid to talk about it. I think there are even churches out there who believe that sex is from the devil. I mean....really?

-Clint Sprunger, November 10  

Quiz #2 Essay

Co Hoedeman was a brilliant animator who joined the NFB in Canada, and was a master at stop-motion animation. He had a way of making his film clear and colorful enough that a child could comprehend it, yet so original that an adult could enjoy it as well. His characters were attractive to the viewers as well, having a way of being recognizable, as block children would remind one of his or her childhood. Hoedeman's films were filled with familiar story, parable, and intellectual depth. One film in particular called "Tchou-tchou" actually featured the block children I mentioned earlier. The setting is a child's building block world, full of little block children. They seem happy at first, perhaps because they are one with the world as they are both made with blocks. Then all of a sudden, when the boy does a flip, a dragon appears and ends up destroying their little game. It happens again and the children this time hide and build a fortress. The dragon won't go away, however, and the kids have to get creative. They finally see the dragon as a train, and build it into one, turning threat into a toy. This film is more than just a simple story of Genesis. Hoedeman doesn't try to copy the garden, but rather creates his own world, and inviting the audience to participate in it.

                                         
I could totally relate to this film as the entire thing was simply a giant world of building blocks. I loved blocks as a kid. I could be free to create anything I wanted! Knowing the account of creation also helped in understanding the film and making those certain connections between the dragon and the devil. I loved it too when they turned the dragon into a train. For me, I always want to try and make good come out of anything, and whatever the enemy means for bad, God can turn it into good!

-Clint Sprunger, November 6

Feminism has gotten way out of hand...

Ok so about this whole feminist situation..now whenever I heard the word feminist, I've always sort of been like, "Ah great, not this again.." But once Leeper said that he would say he's a feminist, I was like wait, hold on a second. What is feminism exactly? So I looked up the definition and history of it all, and this is what I found. Basically, feminism is a philosophy that advocates equal rights for women and men-socially, politically, economically, and in other ways. Early feminists fought for and won suffrage for women. Based on this, I would say yes! Back then I would've totally supported this idea. But the problem now is that feminists seemed to have taken their ideas to a whole new level. Modern day feminism has gotten way out of hand. Someone mentioned this observation in class aas today it goes way further than demanding equal treatment for men and women. Feminists today now fight for language equality, ("chairperson" versus "chairman"), and gender equality, (redefining femininity and masculinity). This is where it's getting dangerous. It frustrates me how nowadays this whole movement has been so determined to destroy any form of male dominance, to the point where they've started to defend abortion and promote lesbianism. These are not biblical principles anymore. I don't care how you argue it. Feminism has turned into a movement based on arrogance, the total opposite of the call to the born-again believer to be a servant. Galatians states that "there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Women have equal access to all of the spiritual blessings Jesus has to offer. Isn't that what's important? Feminism is just one of the issues in society that irritates me because from my point of view I just see it as another unnecessary conflict. I wish everyone in America would just focus on love for once. The real kind, not this false love motivation by self-indulgment that's been going around nowadays.

-Clint Sprunger, November 3rd   

Un Jour, great little film!

The short little film Un Jour was pretty awesome to say the least. I mean even for me, where the film style and everything really isn't my type, I thought it was so profound. The woman and the man were attached, like, literally, and I thought that was such a clever way by the maker to show the intimacy of relationships. They both had to work together and deal with each other. And the saddest part was seeing that huge hole right through the middle of her after the guy had left. It really gives the audience stuff to think about. She had to give up a big part of herself to make room for the guy, and now all of a sudden that he left, what's she gonna use that space for? All it is now is like an ear piercing, and perhaps it's just gonna take some time heal.

-Clint Sprunger, November 1

Ahhhh, sand..

Man, I thought these films with sand that we just watched were super cool. Sand or Peter and the Wolf was probably my absolute favorite. What an amazing discovery that must have been to find out that sand can be one of the most interesting forms of medium used to animate! I would love to experience with sand animation myself. The only thing I saw before this film that was closely related to this form of art was that sand artist guy on America's Got Talent? You guys know what I'm talking about? He would make pictures with the sand, and then all of a sudden turn it into something completely different with the simplest and most graceful movements with his fingers. Pretty cool stuff. Oh, and Leeper, awesome commercial by the way!!

-Clint Sprunger, Oct 28

Skinny-legged horses

Hey guys, Clint here. Just wanted to post about the two recent films we just watched. Now for me personally, it's sometimes very hard for me to get into these types of films. I love animation and everything, but I guess I'm just not into any of that old fashion catholic imagery kinda stuff. I probably should be. But overall it's always sort of bored me. Watching the film however, I think the one that was dubbed the best animated film ever (I forget its name), I forced myself to look deeper into the content. Even before I could try and make myself interested though, I found myself immediately hooked right at the beginning at a certain part. That part was when those long skinny legged horses that seemed to be lifeless paintings started to walk. And it wasn't just any old walking style animation. I don't know what it was, but something about the way they moved drew me in. It was a creepy sort of walk, but at the same time a bit sad, and eerie. Again I don't know what exactly it was but I just can't get that image out of my head. From then on I tried focusing on the film some more. Its still tough, but I'm an animation major, so I should probably make the most of them...
-Clint Sprunger
10/16/2015

Be a kid!

Hey guys it's Clint. So the quote from C.S. Lewis really got my attention the other day. It went a little something like, "When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." This is such a powerful statement, especially when one comes across this concept in the bible. In 1 Corinthians chapter 13, Paul writes, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me." When I first read this passage I immediately thought Paul was sort of talking down towards childlike behavior (immature, never taking things seriously, horsing around, etc), and was simply trying to tell the people that there was a place for that in his life, but it's over now. But what if we've been misunderstanding Paul's meaning this entire time? It's an easy passage to skim over because we think we immediately know what he's talking about, but what if we looked at it a bit closer and actually thought about it in light of Lewis' words and the rest of the bible? Lewis is onto something here..It's a weird concept at first because it sounds backwards, but what if Paul meant that his childlike behavior was being too scared to act like the kid and child of God that he was? And that to finally become a man is to push away the pressure from society to act all "grown up" and have confidence in a true child-like faith? I mean that's exactly the kind of people Jesus said will enter into heaven! Cool huh. Just another little thing to look into and keep chewing on! 

-Clint Sprunger, 10/9/15

Silly Jesus!

I absolutely love the idea of God having a sense of humor, and I've experienced it so many times! A friend told me a funny story concerning this too. He said he was sitting down in an outdoor worship session, and felt the Lord telling him to stand. Thinking it was just his own mind, he discarded the thought. But it came back, and again he felt the Lord really urging him to stand. He said he still thought it was his own thoughts, but then a third time it came. This time he really felt like God saying to him, "Hey, dude, you really need to stand!" He was about to, but looked around and saw most people were sitting, and for the last time told himself, "Why would God want me to stand? I mean really, what does it matter?" Right after he thought this, a bird flew overhead and pooped on his back. Instantly he reared up in shock and disgust, looking up in time to see the culprit flying away into the trees. He looked around, and realized that he was now standing, and at the same time swore he heard God laughing and say, "Told you!"

We serve a funny God, and sometimes I think it's sad that most Jesus-films depict Christ for the most part as super monotone, sort of a real serious personality. It's gotten better, and yes I do realize there's that side of Him, but I feel like we're missing an important quality of God! I mean think about it, Jesus was probably the one who laughed the most out of His disciples. If they took a selfie, He would be the one with the biggest, craziest smile, just being joyful and having fun with life! Anyway, that about brings me to the end of my post. Oh, and if you don't think the guy has a sense of humor, just look at the platypus. I mean seriously, what is that thing? Half duck, lays eggs, has a stinger on it's foot? Crazy. Kinda cute though...

That's all. :) 

Posted by Clint Sprunger, Sep 16, 11:18 a.m.

Clint's Awesome Blog

What's up guys!! My name's Clint Sprunger and I hail from the most wonderful little city of Goshen, Indiana. I'm 20 years old and actually graduated highschool in 2014 and ended up taking a gap-year through an orginization called YWAM(Youth With A Mission). Me and 7 other students went through a 3 month lecture phase getting filled up each week with awesome Jesus stuff from different speakers from all over the world. After Christmas we all went to India for our 10 week outreach phase where we basically just did a bunch of mission work and helped out with the ywam bases over in the cities of Varanasi and Jaipur. I tell you what, the culture shock and everything was pretty intense! But I am SOOO glad I did it. I got to witness some amazing things for the Kingdom and if you ever want to hear about the trip just come up and ask! I'd love to meet all of you!

 Now on the subject of likes and dislikes, we'll start with the likes first. Ice cream, Christmas, Christmas trees, The Office, soccer, Ticonderoga pencils, Halo, dressing up/ looking fly, and mangoes simply touch the surface. My two main ones that I honestly think are God given gifts would be drawing and drumming. I would always like making comics as well as little flip-books of stick people fighting and can't WAIT to start animating as I am an animation major here at HU. Dislikes? Ohhh let's see, well as far as music goes I'll listen to anything but country, and that's all I will say on the matter.

After all that I guess I'm just an average guy looking to serve God and bring the Kingdom wherever it's power is needed. I've felt the Holy Spirit and long to witness more and more healings and wonders throughout my life. Jesus is such a cool guy! He is my lover. :) Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope to get to know all of you guys better throughout the year! Peace out.