Blog 8

             Today we had to read, “High School is Hell”.  This was about some of the different elements in the Buffy series. It talked about how the horror genre incorporates metaphors to help things seem more real. The purpose of a metaphor is to make unreal ideas seem real. One of the examples in the reading was, “I would kill to be on the cheerleading squad”. That is a metaphor but they use it to make it real. We know in real life that no one would kill to make the cheerleading squad. They would use certain metaphors about high school that actually happens in the show. It was referring to some of the stresses, pressure, and other downsides of high such as bullying. It also talked about how Buffy was able to read thought one episode and she ended up stopping a suicide. Although when he could hear his though she thought he was planning to kill everyone in the school but she still stopped a suicide. I couldn’t really connect with this article because I never watch anything in the horror genre. The horror genre has never interested me and I’m not going to lie, I find most horror movies and shows to be lame. I understand the use of metaphors but I cannot connect with this article because I never watch anything of the horror genre. It was also hard for me to make connection today in class with our assignment because I am so unfamiliar with the horror genre. I may think that the whole horror genre is pretty stupid but many people enjoy it so I guess I’ll just have to deal with it. 

Blog 7

            Today I watched the next episode of the Firefly series. From the beginning of the episode today I saw some of the ideas we discussed in yesterday’s class. In the opening scene Mal ends up killing someone. We asked the question if it is ever okay to kill. Today Mal was protecting his cargo but he still killed someone. Then he ended up getting very drunk and he even married someone. So good man Mal seems to be worse of a man every episode. Then later in the show he lets himself be seduced by his so called wife and is poisoned. So he gave into seduction and the girl nearly took over the entire ship. She was able to reroute the ship. The ship was going to be hijacked. So his flaws nearly cost the entire crew their lives and the ship. Once again Mal kills and he gives into seduction. Two more things that Mal makes him seem like a man without.  Although I do give props to Warsh. The wife tried to seduce him but he stood his ground and he held up his marriage with Zoe. Inara also did well in this episode. She did not let herself be seduced by the wife and she is the one who alerted the crew that something was wrong. Overall this show made Mal look even less like a moral man and more like a crook.  Although at the end he does find the fake wife and he doesn’t let himself be played again and he doesn’t kill her at the end.  He doesn’t kill her but he does punch her but I guess that isn’t as bad as killing her. 

Blog 6

Today in class we came up with many idea and themes for the Train Job episode. One of the ideas that we came up with about the episode, as a whole was how the crew was doing wrong but they also did what was right. One of the characters that this idea works with is Mal. They accepted a job from Niska and they knew the risk they were taking when they took the job. So they steal the cargo they are supposed to but the find out that the cargo is medicine needed by many. So Mal makes the decision to return the cargo and face Niska. If they did not finish the job, Niska would kill them but he put other peoples’ needs before his. That proves that he is a man who has morals but at the same time how can he be moral when he steals. One of the questions in class was, is it ever okay to steal? In today’s world that would be a no but in this series it doesn’t seem as bad. I still think it is not okay to steal no matter what the circumstances are. Another part that somewhat contradicts Mal being a moral man is when he kills Crow. We also asked if there was ever a situation in which killing someone is okay. Once again with the circumstances with what they were going through, it doesn’t seem as bad. Mal killed a terrible man and it did help get his point across and killing Crow almost seems like an exception to me. However this is a TV series and in real life there would be no exceptions for stealing or killing.

Blog 5

            Today for my show of choice I watched the fifth show of the Firefly series. In today’s show we learned some more about River’s problems. I also learned about how the doctor and River came to be on the ship.  Today’s show the unloaded the cargo of the cattle and everything went wrong today.  At the landing the captain was being hostile towards the doctor and his sister. I did not understand why he was being that way towards them but he was. Then at the cattle drop the captain tell the doctor and his sister to take a walk around town, which turned ugly. The doctor was abducted and River met up with him and they were both taken to a village. The village needed a doctor and they found themselves one. Meanwhile the cattle selling turned into a shoot out and the preacher was shot. Then they ended up leaving without the doctor and his sister and they had to resort to taking the preacher to the Alliance for medical help. Even though at the end they save the doctor and his sister.  After watching several Firefly episodes, I have been noticing a trend. It seems like somehow every single show there is some type of fight. Basically the same thing is happening every show but it just has a different story to go along with it. Today I also read through some other people’s blogs that have been following Firefly and it was interesting to see what other people thought about the show. In reading other people’s opinion I noticed some observations that were similar to mine but I also saw many different ideas than mine. 

Blog 4

             Today for the show of my choice, I watched another episode of Firefly. Today I watched episode four and today I was able to understand the entire show today. Today I realized why they are living on the space ship. Earth has burned up or something like that and that is why they are living there. After this show I have a better understanding of what the Alliance is. The Alliance is the central planets that used force to help them take control of the people but the people on the ship are not apart of the Alliance. I thought episode four was so much better because I have a better understanding of the plot and some background information now. Today the companion went to a ball and the Captain and Kaylee ended up at the same ball. The Captain was there to take care of a business job and he ends up getting himself into trouble. He ends up getting into a fight with the Companion’s date and he is forced into a sword duel. Somehow he ends up winning and getting the cargo job. While the Captain was being held, the guy who sent the Captain to get the cargo job was holding the ship. Over all this show was so much easier to understand and I am actually staring to enjoy watching the Firefly series somewhat. At first I did not like the show at all but now the shows actually aren’t that bad.  If anyone else thought that Firefly was terrible at the beginning, just watch a couple others and once you have a better understanding of the show, they are much more enjoyable. 

Blog 3

            For my show choice today, I chose to watch episode three of Firefly. It was named Bushwhacked. Watching it for the second time I started to understand some parts of the story a little better than I did after The Train Job episode. In this episode I figured out with the Alliance is. The Alliance is the central planets, or that’s what they are referred too. I also found out in this episode that the medic and his sister and wanted fugitives of the Alliance. Then in this episode the whole story was put together much better than the first episode we watched. Everything seemed to flow together much better in this episode than it did in The Train Job. The story line became clearer in this episode. In this episode they found another space shuttle and they found some valuables on board. Not only did they find values but they also found a survivor. The others were hanging from the roof like cattle after they have been butchered. The only thing was that the one survivor they found was no ordinary survivor. He was a “reever” or that is what he was referred to. I’m not sure was they are supposed to be but all I know is that they are not good. Also in this show the doctor and his sister managed to hide out as the Alliance team searched the ship. By the end the Alliance ended up taking the valuable cargo and the reever was killed at the end. This show was better put together but I thought overall this show was really weird. 

Blog 2

I just finished watching The Train Job episode and overall I thought it was an okay show.  I thought that it was somewhat interesting but it wasn’t that great. I would describe it as a futuristic western, which was kind of cool but not that great. It reminded me of star trek and I am not really a fan of it. From what I got from the episode they are living on a ship and do little jobs for people. I also learned that the doctor’s sister is somewhat crazy and at the end the police or whatever they are called are looking for her. One of the parts I did not like about the show was that all the action and story took place in a very short amount of time and the majority of the show was just filled up with basically nothing. The robbing of the train and the taking back of the medicine was only like five minutes of the show. I just thought that it was poorly put together and that the robbing of the train and the plans for that should have been the majority of the show. That was one of the best parts of the show and it was also the shortest part of the show. I thought that there should been more planning and the robbery scene should have been much longer. Other than that I thought the story line was kind of interesting. I thought the stolen cargo being medicine was a good twist to the story but it could have been much better if it was filmed better.  During the show I also learned that there was some kind of group that was referred to as the Alliance but being the first episode I didn’t really get the whole alliance group. Overall it was okay and I might watch a couple of their other shows for the rest of the shows we have to watch. 

Blog 1

            My name is Logan Hostetler and I am a freshman majoring in engineering undecided. I am a commuter and I live in a small town named Plain City. I went to Jonathan Alder High School where I played basketball and football. I was in the top 10 of my class and was the salutatorian. I have always wanted to go to Ohio State so the decision of where to go to school was an easy decision for me.  I really enjoy playing and watching pretty much any sport and I have always been a huge fan of Ohio State athletics. Other than watching and playing sports I also like to hang out with friends and watch movies. I pretty much like all types of movies except for movies like Twilight and those sorts of movies. I also have a habit of texting a lot during my free time. During my long summer I enjoyed going boating, fishing, riding four wheelers, golfing, and some other things. This summer I also went to several Cincinnati Reds games. We went to Chicago for a sort vacation this summer and we went to see a Reds, Cubs game at Wrigley Field, which was really cool. I have never been to Wrigley Field and it is an amazing stadium. We only took a sort vacation to Chicago this summer because we are going to Florida over Christmas Break. I am really looking forward to going to Florida this winter so I can get a break from the cold weather. Going to Florida will also be nice because it will give me a good break from all the stresses of school and work. I cannot wait for the relaxation.