Category Archives: Current Events

The best quarterbacks in the SEC in 2012? (Part 4)

July 12, 2012 – 6:58 am

I think Tyler Wilson is the best quarterback in the SEC, but what do others think?

247 sports notes:

First in a series that goes position by position to rate the best players and units in the Southeastern Conference. Today: the quarterbacks.

Aaron Murray at GeorgiaGeorgia’s Aaron Murray will be the top rated quarterback in the SEC heading into the 2011 season.

In a league that’s known for its defensive linemen, it’s hard to overlook the quarterbacks in the Southeastern Conference. This is a glamour position in the nation’s number one football league but this year there is no Tim Tebow or Cam Newton on the horizon. Even though there is only one returning starter with star quality stats in Georgia’s Aaron Murray, there is no lack of talent heading into 2011.

Now that spring football is over, here is an early look at the quarterback position, rating by units and individually.

SEC EAST

1. Georgia:Aaron Murray is the top returning quarterback in the league after throwing for 3,049 yards and 24 touchdowns (only eight picks) as a redshirt freshman in 2010. Murray won’t have the luxury of throwing to A.J. Green in 2011, but the Bulldogs will have competent receivers. If Murray gets the protection, he should build upon last year’s work to become an All-SEC type this year. Sophomore Hutson Mason is the backup but he threw only 17 passes last year. Behind him is talented freshman Christian LeMay, whose problems in high school kept him from playing as a senior, and redshirt freshmen Greg Bingham and Parker Welch.

2. Florida:John Brantley is the incumbent and now that he will have the chance to run a pro style offense instead of the spread and get his coaching from Charlie Weis, he should be substantially better in 2011. Although Brantley didn’t have a great spring game, he will benefit from three months of working in the film room with Weis before practice begins again in August. Given Weis’ track record with quarterbacks, Brantley could be the most improved player in the SEC next season. Behind him are athletic redshirt freshman Tyler Murphy and touted freshmen Jeff Driskel, the Gatorade National Player of the Year, and athletic Jacoby Brissett, who could play Division I basketball as well as football.

3. South Carolina:Stephen Garcia’s future at South Carolina is completely up in the air but even if the oft-troubled Garcia doesn’t come back, South Carolina should be in very good hands. Conner Shaw backed up Garcia last year and while he doesn’t have the arm strength that Garcia has, he’s less likely to throw into double coverage, too. He will be backed up by junior Seth Strickland, sophomore Andrew Clifford and redshirt freshman Dylan Thompson. Whoever quarterbacks the Gamecocks will be able to hand the ball off to Marcus Lattimore, the best running back in the conference and maybe the country, and throw to Alshon Jeffery, arguably the best wide receiver in the nation. That should take the pressure off and considering it’s Steve Spurrier who will be coaching the position, figure South Carolina will be productive at quarterback.

4. Tennessee: A quarterback controversy is entirely possible in Knoxville. The incumbent is Tyler Bray, who threw for 18 touchdowns and 1,849 yards as a true freshman, but Bray was 5-30 in the spring game while Matt Simms, who threw for eight touchdowns and 1,460 yards last season, threw for a touchdown and ran for a touchdown in the spring game and was much, much sharper. Bray will be given every chance to retain his starting job but if he falters, Simms has SEC starts under his belt. Neither quarterback got any real separation in the spring. Freshman Justin Worley, who enrolled early, showed a strong arm and good decision making skills in the spring. The other quarterback on the roster is Nash Nance, who redshirted last year as a freshman.

5. Kentucky:Morgan Newton at and watched senior Mike Hartline last season but when Hartline was ineligible to play in the bowl game, Newton took over and completed 21-36 passes for 211 yards. He threw for six touchdowns and 706 yards as a true freshman in 2009. Newton had a good spring that had some Kentucky observers comparing him to former UK standout Andre Woodson, who threw for 71 touchdowns and 7,224 yards as a starter in 2006-07. Newton’s backup figures to be true freshman Maxwell Smith, a strong armed kid from California who enrolled early and played well during spring practice.

6. Vanderbilt: The good news for new coach James Franklin is that he has a two-year starter in Larry Smith. That’s also the bad news because Smith has never completed more than 50 percent of his passes and he has averaged a little more than 5.0 yards per attempt. Those numbers better improve if Franklin intends to improve Vandy’s anemic offense. The backup is Jordan Rogers, who redshirted last season. He’s never been healthy since he’s been at Vandy but he’s a far better passer than Smith and with a good August, he could take over as the #1 QB. Rogers’ brother is Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rogers. Sophomore John Townsley and redshirt sophomore Charlie Goro back up Rogers and Smith.

SEC WEST

1. Arkansas:Bobby Petrino is such a good quarterbacks coach that whoever he lines up under center figures to be one of the best in the SEC. Tyler Wilson spent the 2010 season backing up Ryan Mallett, but he showed what he could do against Auburn last year when Mallett went down with a concussion. All Wilson did was complete 25-34 passes for 332 yards and four touchdowns. He comes into the season having thrown for 740 yards and seven touchdowns in his two years of apprentice work. Now Wilson is ready to start and considering he will be throwing to the nation’s best set of wide receivers and can hand the ball off to Knile Davis, who ran for 1,322 yards and 13 touchdowns last year, he figures to have something close to an All-SEC season. Behind Wilson are backups Brandon Mitchell, who impresses everyone with his strong arm and quick feet, and freshman Jacoby Walker, another big arm type who can run the ball as well.

2. Mississippi State: A year ago, who would have thought that Chris Relf would establish himself as one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC? Everybody knew he could run the ball but he proved he can be a capable passer as well in leading the Bulldogs to a 9-4 record that included a smashing bowl win over Michigan. Relf threw for 1,776 yards and 12 touchdowns while rushing for 701 and five more out of Dan Mullen’s spread option offense. If Relf improves on those numbers, he could contend for All-SEC. Mullen has an experienced backup in Tyler Russell, who threw for 635 yards and five touchdowns last year as a redshirt freshman. Redshirt freshman Dylan Favre, the nephew of Brett Favre, had an outstanding spring and in the fall, Mullen brings in highly regarded Dak Prescott, a terrific athlete with outstanding size (6-4, 230).

3. LSU: On the SEC Coaches Teleconference on Wednesday, Les Miles went on and on about the strides Jordan Jefferson made in the spring under new offensive coordinator Steve Kragthorpe. Jefferson is a terrific athlete who is better known for running the ball (383 yards and six touchdowns in 2010) than throwing it although he did throw for 17 touchdowns and 2,166 yards as a sophomore in 2009. If Jefferson can hold his position and actually excel, it would allow Miles to redshirt big arm juco transfer Zach Mettenberger, the former Georgia signee. Senior Jarrett Lee, who has started nine games and thrown 18 touchdown passes in his career, is a capable backup. Metterberger has the best physical tools of the three but Miles has made it very clear that he would be most comfortable with a senior starter at quarterback. In the all, those three will be joined by athletic Jerrard Randall, who might end up at another position before his career is through.

4. Alabama: A.J. McCarron always looked good in his relief appearances for Greg McElroy (completed 30-48 passes for 389 yards and three touchdowns) but now he has to prove he can be the starter. That’s going to be a tough job since he couldn’t distance himself in the spring from redshirt freshman Phillip Sims. Mark Ingram is gone from the offense as is Julio Jones, but Alabama has competent receivers in Marquis Maze and Darius Hanks, and tailback Trent Richardson figures to have a monster season, so neither McCarron or Sims will have to be great. All they will have to do is avoid fumbling and throwing the ball to the other team to be competent. Freshman Phillip Ely will make all the road trips but he’s got to spend his first year in the weight room getting strong enough to play Division I football.

5. Auburn: No one will have a greater statistical dropoff at the quarterback position than Auburn. Auburn doesn’t have one quarterback capable of matching Cam Newton’s Heisman Trophy stats of 2,854 passing yards and 30 touchdowns to go with 1,473 rushing yards and another 20 touchdowns and no one is sure there are any two who could put up those numbers. Barrett Trotter, who ran for 68 yards and passes for 64 more last year, ended the spring locked in a battle with redshirt freshman Clint Moseley, but no one would be surprised if they have to take a backseat to hotshot freshman Kiehl Frazier, who spent four years in high school running the Gus Malzahn offense at a very high level. Frazier has the strong arm to throw the ball in the SEC and he runs the ball better than either Trotter or Moseley.

6. Ole Miss: When senior Nathan Stanley left the program during spring practice that pretty much left the Ole Miss quarterback job a tossup between juco transfer Randall Mackey and West Virginia transfer Barry Brunetti. Mackey finished the spring just ahead of Brunetti, but in the spring game, Brunetti threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns while Mackey threw for 151 and one touchdown plus threw an interception. Also in the mix is juco transfer Zach Stoudt and athletic freshman Maikhail Miller. The quarterback position figures to be like the rest of the Ole Miss team, a real question mark for 2011.

RATING THE STARTERS:

1. Aaron Murray, Georgia
2. Tyler Wilson, Arkansas
3. Chris Relf, Mississippi State
4. John Brantley, Florida
5. Jordan Jefferson, LSU
6. A.J. McCarron, Alabama
7. Conner Shaw, South Carolina
8. Tyler Bray, Tennessee
9. Morgan Newton, Kentucky
10. Barrett Trotter, Auburn
11. Larry Smith, Vanderbilt
12. Randall Mackey, Ole Miss

By Everette Hatcher III | Comments (0)

Ringo Starr on tour 2012 (Part 3)

July 12, 2012 – 6:28 am

I went  to a Ringo Starr concert on July 4, 2012 at Orange Beach, AL and enjoyed it very much and here are some of the songs I heard that night:

Concert review – Ringo Starr at Symphony Hall, Birmingham

Tuesday 21st June 2011, 12:52PM BST.

Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band, Birmingham
Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band,  Birmingham
Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band,  Birmingham Symphony Hall, Concert review by Phil  Gillam

Yes, yes, of course it was terribly ‘cabaret’ at times, but what were you  expecting, for goodness sake? This is Ringo.

Now, you might say there are two types of performer in popular music: the  artist (such as Bob Dylan) and the entertainer (such as Engelbert Humperdink).  Ringo has never professed to be an artist, but he’s never stopped being an  entertainer. And entertain is what he did supremely well last night.

“If you don’t know this next song, you’re in the wrong venue,” he told the crowd as  he launched, into Yellow Submarine.

Surrounded by top-notch, if ancient, musicians – all of whom were major  players in their time – Ringo, a sprightly 70 years old, gave us energetic  renditions of Honey Don’t, Back Off Boogaloo, Photograph, and of course  With A Little Help From My Friends.

Starr has suffered down the years at the hands of critics.  But it turns out  the mop-top caricatures of John the thinker, Paul the romantic, George the  mystic and Ringo the clown were pretty accurate after all.

Last night he proved he was still the clown, still the master entertainer,  and still, a much better drummer than many give him credit for. Ringo . . .  you’re fab.

Photos – Jason Sheldon /  Junction10 Photography

Read more:  http://www.expressandstar.com/entertainment/2011/06/21/concert-review-ringo-starr-at-symphony-hall-birmingham/#ixzz1zlqZ0umd

Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach at their wedding 1981«

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Ringo Starr – “Wings” 1/31/2012 Craig Ferguson

Here is a song off of the new album “Ringo Starr 2012.”

By Everette Hatcher III | Comments (0)

A way to understand the current federal budget

July 12, 2012 – 12:20 am

I got this off the internet.

U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000
Fed budget: $3,820,000,000,000
New debt: $1,650,000,000,000
National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
Recent budget cut: $38,500,000,000

Now, remove 8 zeros and pretend it’s a household budget

Annual family income: $21,700
Money the family spent: $38,200
New debt on the credit card: $16,500
Outstanding balance on credit card: $142,710
Total budget cuts: $385

Sort of brings the true issue “home” doesn’t it?

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Barrett Jones of Alabama

July 12, 2012 – 12:09 am

Alabama Coach Nick Saban speaks to the media at the Southeastern Conference NCAA college football media days in Hoover, Ala. on Thursday, July 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

FR111446 AP

Alabama Coach Nick Saban speaks to the media at the Southeastern Conference NCAA college football media days in Hoover, Ala. on Thursday, July 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

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Yesterday I talked about Alabama in the SEC football preview and I today I am profiling their best player.

I really respect Barrett Jones for his work on and off the football field.

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 Photo 1 of 3
In a friendly game of keep away, University of Alabama football player Barrett Jones demonstrates why he is a formidable opponent on the football field. The mission team he led to Nicaragua visited several schools to share the love of Christ with the children.  BP Photo.Photo Terms of Use
 
JINOTEGA, Nicaragua (BP) — Barrett Jones, a 6-foot-5-inch, 300-pound football player for the University of Alabama would stand out anywhere.But his love for God and his commitment to sharing the Gospel also make him stand out from most of his peers.”I don’t want to be known as a football player who happens to be a Christian, I want to be known as a Christian who happens to play football,” said Jones, an All-American for the 2011 national champion Crimson Tide.

At Shalom Baptist Church in Jinotega, Nicaragua, Barrett Jones, University of Alabama offensive lineman, shares a message on how God — not sports, money, success or relationships — can fill a person’s heart. Rafael Castro translates. BP Photo

A longtime member of Bellevue Baptist Church of Cordova, Tenn., near Memphis, Jones organized and led a team of 31 of his friends and family members on a mission trip to Jinotega, Nicaragua, during his spring break, March 11-16.

The team participated in several nightly revival services at Shalom Baptist Church in Jinotega and visited three public schools and an orphanage. At each location, they gave their personal testimonies, presented the Gospel story and interacted with the children by playing sports and games and simply reflecting God’s love.

The 21-year-old Jones made his priorities in his testimony at the revival service at Shalom Baptist on March 13.

“Tonight, I want to talk to you a little bit about what I’m really passionate about,” he told the crowd, “and that’s not football — it’s Jesus Christ.”

This is the third mission trip Jones has organized and led — the past two spring breaks he has taken mission teams to Haiti where they constructed bathrooms for refugees, painted a school building and built a basketball court.

“I love this trip [to Nicaragua] because it’s all about presenting the Gospel — that’s the main purpose of it,” Jones said. “It’s not to build a school — those [were] great trips, too.

“But this is the most important kind of trip,” Jones said, “… to present the Gospel. This trip could have an eternal effect, hopefully, on some people’s lives.”

Jones has garnered an impressive list of academic, athletic and community service honors and awards. He graduated as an accounting major in three years with a 4.0 GPA in the University Honors Program. He will play his fourth season at the Alabama Crimson Tide as a graduate student in accounting.

He is involved in Campus Crusade for Christ and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. In 2011, his football prowess was recognized with the Outland Trophy as the most outstanding interior lineman, the Wuerffel Trophy for exemplary community service as well as athletic and academic achievement, and 2011 SEC Scholarship Athlete of the Year.

Between classes, study, football practice and games, spring break is the only free time Jones has during the year.

“[People always] say, ‘Man, that’s awesome that you’re giving up your spring break to go on mission trips,’ and I say to them, ‘I’m not giving up anything.’

“This is the most fun I could ever have … to go on a trip like this and experience this with likeminded Christians and spread the Gospel … that’s what I love to do, and I’m not just saying that.

“I’ve been to the beach a million times,” Jones said, “and I don’t really remember one specific beach trip. But I remember every second and every day of every mission trip I’ve ever been on.”
–30–
Laura Fielding is a writer for the International Mission Board.

See larger Alabama center Barrett Jones speaks to the media at the Southeastern Conference NCAA college football media days in Hoover, Ala. on Thursday, July 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Photo by Butch Dill

Alabama center Barrett Jones speaks to the media at the Southeastern Conference NCAA college football media days in Hoover, Ala. on Thursday, July 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

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By Everette Hatcher III | Comments (0)

The best quarterbacks in the SEC in 2012? (Part 3)

July 11, 2012 – 11:42 am

I think Tyler Wilson is the best quarterback in the SEC, but below is what others think.

Football Nation states:

published Friday, May 4th, 2012

SEC should be stronger at quarterback

 
 
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Becoming a starting quarterback in the Southeastern Conference last season was accompanied by great peril.

Clint Moseley replaced Barrett Trotter as Auburn’s top quarterback during the seventh game, leading the Tigers to a 17-6 win over Florida, and made his first college start the following week at LSU. Moseley never had a chance in Baton Rouge, getting sacked six times and having an interception returned for a touchdown in a 45-10 humbling.

“I don’t want to say it wasn’t that bad,” Moseley said after the game. “It was awful.”

It was awful for a slew of SEC quarterbacks last season, with a record nine league teams feeling the need to make performance-based changes. Even league champ LSU, which made a switch by dumping Jarrett Lee for Jordan Jefferson after its overtime win at Alabama in early November, experienced volatility under center.

Only Alabama’s AJ McCarron, Tyler Wilson of Arkansas and Georgia’s Aaron Murray started wire-to-wire, but the league should be more stable at the position in 2012 with all but LSU and Texas A&M returning quarterbacks who made multiple starts in 2011.

“I think there are a lot of good quarterback prospects in our league,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “AJ played better and better as the year went on, and hopefully he’ll be one of those guys in our league this year. Georgia has a very productive, experienced quarterback. Tennessee has a productive, talented quarterback. Arkansas has a very productive, talented quarterback, and some other people have some guys who can be good as well and have played some and will continue to develop.

“The league will be better because of that offensively.”

Stellar quarterback play was expected to be somewhat infrequent last year following the departures of Auburn’s Cam Newton, Alabama’s Greg McElroy and Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett. Those were three of the top seven quarterbacks nationally in passing efficiency in 2010, with Newton winning the Heisman Trophy and leading the Tigers to a 14-0 record and the national championship.

Yet the struggles last year were profound, as youth and inexperience often were no match in a league that produced four of the nation’s top five defenses: Alabama, LSU, South Carolina and Georgia.

“There were not a lot of proven guys, and when you play a lot of proven teams, it’s hard for anybody on offense to look better,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “The quarterback is the one guy getting harassed by these defensive linemen and edge rushers, and he’s the guy trying to throw it into a tight window against cornerbacks playing receivers a little tighter.

“You try to find someone to pick on, but it’s hard to find someone to pick on in our league. So the quarterback just has to be more precise in what he does. Sometimes you have to manage bad situations, but that is part of the learning process.”

The SEC did not have a quarterback rank among the top 20 in efficiency, though Wilson (22nd), South Carolina’s Connor Shaw (23rd), McCarron (25th) and Murray (26th) came close. Shaw replaced the troubled Stephen Garcia and finished with a flurry, throwing eight touchdown passes and one interception in the last three games to cap South Carolina’s first 11-win season.

Seeking to join the ranks of upper-echelon SEC quarterbacks are Tennessee’s Tyler Bray and Vanderbilt’s Jordan Rodgers. Bray missed five games last season due to a broken thumb, getting replaced by Matt Simms and then Justin Worley, but heads into this season with the league’s top crop of receivers.

Rodgers, the brother of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, replaced Larry Smith and led the Commodores to the Liberty Bowl. He was a disaster in Memphis, however, completing 4 of 14 passes for 26 yards and an interception before being pulled.

“I think it is a real positive when you have some opportunities like that for growth,” Vandy coach James Franklin said. “He spent a lot of time thinking about it and watching film, and the two of us have had some really good discussions. I think we’re going to be much more on the same page this year, as well as my coordinator and quarterbacks coach.”

The most scrutinized league quarterback this season will be Zach Mettenberger, who joins a loaded LSU lineup looking to atone for a 21-0 loss to Alabama in the BCS championship game.

Auburn’s Moseley threw more interceptions returned for touchdowns against Georgia and Alabama, and he nursed a shoulder injury this spring while battling Kiehl Frazier in a race that will head into preseason camp. Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel took turns starting and struggling at Florida last season when John Brantley was hurt, and that pair came out of spring neck-and-neck as well.

No league team had a more wide-open competition this spring than newcomer Texas A&M, which had four quarterbacks in the hunt to replace NFL top-10 pick Ryan Tannehill.

“I think whenever you have a returning quarterback and a guy who has some experience, it’s huge,” Franklin said. “I’ve been in this game for a long time, and I don’t care if you’re in Pop Warner, little league, high school, college or the NFL, if you have a guy at that position, you have a chance. He has the ability to make everybody on your team better, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

“The league in general will always be great on defense, and when we have returning quarterbacks, I think it makes for an even more exciting year in the SEC.”

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette photo

Arkansas senior quarterback Tyler Wilson was a first-team All-SEC selection last season, but no league quarterback ranked among the top 20 nationally in passing efficiency.

By Everette Hatcher III | Comments (0)

“Woody Wednesday” The heart wants what it wants”

July 11, 2012 – 9:42 am

I read this on www.crosswalk.com which is one of my favorite websites.

Life Lessons from Woody Allen

I confess I am a huge film buff. But I’ve never really been a Woody Allen fan, even though most film critics consider him to be one of the most gifted and influential filmmakers of our time. Of course, some of my film savvy friends who are aficionados of Allen’s work have been recommending some of his more interesting films. Although often very dark, many of him movies have some interesting worldview themes.

Woody Allen’s personal life has certainly been checkered with controversy. Last week Chuck Colson discussed Allen’s life and work and recent interview in the Washington Post:

“The heart wants what it wants.”

You may remember those words. They’re the excuse Woody Allen offered in 1992 for leaving his longtime lover to run off with her daughter. Even many of Allen’s fans were repulsed by the affair and by Allen’s cavalier attitude…

So Allen’s heart got what it wanted. According to the unwritten laws of our culture–and according to the philosophy he expressed in that infamous sentence–he ought to be happy.

Only he’s not, according to a new interview in the Washington Post. Interviewer David Segal quips that Allen’s worldview “is so bereft of meaning, so godless and absurd, that the only proper response is to curl up on a sofa and howl for your mommy.”

Not the kind of talk you would expect from one of the most successful men in film. By any secular standard Allen should be on top of the world. Apparently this is not the case. According to Colson:

As Allen confesses, movies were only a “means” for him to live the kind of lifestyle he wanted, but now that he has it, he has to keep making movies to distract himself from it. Like the writer of Ecclesiastes, who “withheld not [his] heart from any joy,” Woody Allen apparently has concluded that “all is vanity…”

Read the entire commentary on BreakPoint:  When the Heart Gets What it Wants

Read the Washington Post interview with Woody Allen: Cloud in the Silver Lining

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According to Woody Allen Life is meaningless (Woody Wednesday Part 2)

Woody Allen, the film writer, director, and actor, has consistently populated his scripts with characters who exchange dialogue concerning meaning and purpose. In Hannah and Her Sisters a character named Mickey says, “Do you realize what a thread were all hanging by? Can you understand how meaningless everything is? Everything. I gotta get some answers.”{7} […]

“Woody Wednesday” Part 1 starts today, Complete listing of all posts on the historical people mentioned in “Midnight in Paris”

I have gone to see Woody Allen’s latest movie “Midnight in Paris” three times and taken lots of notes during the films. I have attempted since June 12th when I first started posting to give a historical rundown on every person mentioned in the film. Below are the results of my study. I welcome any […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Comments (0)

Woody Allen is a hot subject for evangelicals

July 11, 2012 – 8:24 am

God Is A Luxury I Can’t Afford – From Crimes And Misdemeanors

Published on Feb 29, 2012 by

Woody Allen uses eye, seeing and vision symbolism throughout Crimes & Misdemeanors. Judah (Martin Landau) is a wealthy ophthalmologist. Rabbi Ben (Sam Waterson), one of Judah’s real patients, is going blind. This clip is an exploration of a dichotomy between a “kingdom of Heaven” with absolutes and objectivity and the “real world” with relativity and subjectivity. Judah is on the horns of a dilemma. Judah’s mistress, Dolores, has created a crisis by threatening to publicly expose his affair with her and his financial improprieties. In the middle of the night in a violent thunderstorm, symbolic of the crisis and dilemma, Judah has an imagined conversation with one of his real patients, Rabbi Ben. The imagined conversation is about Judah’s mobster brother Jack’s (Jerry Orbach) proposed murder of Judah’s mistress of several years, Dolores, through the services of the mobster brother. Judah sees only two world views, a “kingdom of Heaven” view represented by Rabbi Ben and the “real world” view represented by mobster brother Jack. Judah’s dilemma is which world view to embrace to resolve his crisis. Judah complains: “I managed to keep free of the real world, but suddenly it’s found me.” When faced with Rabbi Ben’s “kingodom of Heaven” view that God sees all, Judah proclaims: “God is a luxury I can’t afford.” They all exhibit deficits when it comes to “seeing” what is around them and other perspectives. Judah think’s Rabbi Ben’s perspective is “blind” to the real world. Judah imagines Rabbi Ben arguing back that, although Judah is blind to God, God is not blind and sees Judah for what he is, a murderer. In the end, Judah embraces mobster brother Jack’s “real world” view and calls Jack to give the go-ahead for the already planned murder of Dolores.

___________-

Anyone who has read my blog knows that I am an evangelical and I love Woody Allen movies. Here is an article on this subject and it concludes comments by Chuck Colson and Richard Land. I have been a big fan of both of these men and have heard them speak in person in the past.

Posted at 09:58 PM ET, 10/24/2011 TheWashingtonPost

Woody Allen and evangelicals: A surprisingly romantic pair


Director Woody Allen looks on during the shooting of his movie “The Bop Decameron” in downtown Rome July 25, 2011. (REMO CASILLI – REUTERS) Earlier this year I was sitting at a cafeteria lunch table with evangelical icon Chuck Colson and some of his close faith advisors when the conversation took a turn I hadn’t predicted: Colson started talking about Woody Allen.

In detail.

It turned out Colson and some others at the table, who help him craft theological writings and classes, are hard-core fans of Allen, and were easily able to recite bits of dialogue. A debate launched about the religious subtexts of various Allen films and what were the moviemaker’s own theological conclusions.

It was only when my regular chats with Southern Baptist leader Richard Land began turning to Allen that I got curious — what’s the deal with evangelicals and Woody Allen?

It turned out that I was clueless to a fascination that now makes perfect sense, since Allen marries two things core to modern-day evangelicals: popular culture and religion. Think “Crimes and Misdemeanors” and the symbolism of the rabbi going blind; think “Match Point” and questions raised about the apparent randomness of life.

Many of Allen’s films wrestle in a complex way with core moral themes, such as the nature of forgiveness, what to do with sin, whether life can have any meaning without God. And he does this as an agnostic.

Land is also a huge Allen fan and can rattle off an amazing amout of dialogue. You can’t get the guy off the phone once he starts talking Woody.

This evangelical-Allen thing reappeared the other day when some friends on Facebook started zapping around an amazing piece of vintage talk-show footage — Allen interviewing evangelical leader Billy Graham (it’s in two parts).

I haven’t been able to determine what show Allen was hosting (he declined to be interviewed), but it looks to be the 1960s, with a wise-guy, 30-something Allen engaging the handsome, older preacher about sex, drugs and life after death.

Allen: “If you come to one of my movies or something, I’ll go to one of your revival meetings.”

Graham: “Well now that is a deal.”

Allen: “You could probably convert me because I’m such a pushover. I have no convictions in any direction and if you make it appealing and promise me some sort of wonderful afterlife with a white robe and wings I would go for it.”

Graham: “I can’t promise you a white robe and wings, but I can promise you a very interesting, thrilling life.”

Allen: “One wing, maybe?”The off-camera audience is cracking up the entire time, and both men are smiling and relaxed through the 10-minute interview even as they clearly aren’t seriously entertaining the other’s views. It’s entertainment, but it’s also sweet, particularly on Graham’s part, which results in a piece of footage that manages to be both deep and silly (this is not easy to pull off).  

The primary feeling I had watching the video was one of nostalgia for a time when the subject of religion wasn’t so firmly planted at the center of a culture war, when people of totally different convictions about matters of life and death and morality could agree to disagree. It seemed almost romantic.

It seems impossible to imagine. Can anyone think of a comparable exchange today? I considered The Daily Show but even that seems too slick.

In the interview Allen is dorky and giggly – he almost seems like a teenager embarassed to ask about dating.

Could he have sex before marriage, he asks Graham, to ensure that his betrothed isn’t “an absolute yo-yo?” Graham turns fatherly, but not dogmatic; “that won’t happen to you,” he assures Allen.

Graham’s framing of the role of faith is decidedly secular, perhaps aimed at Allen’s audience. The purpose of the religious doctrine and rules is because God wants you to have “the best of life .. happiness and fulfillment.” The ban on sex outside a committed marriage, he says, is to protect your psychological self, to keep your body free from disease.

I asked Land to look at the videos and he commented that the wise-cracking Woody of the 1960s seemed to have “less swagger in his agnosticism” than the Woody who created the characters of “Crimes and Misdemeanors” in the 1980s, with their agonizing over mortality and purpose.

“I find Woody over the years, and of course this is true of people as they get older, there is more resignation,” he said. “There is a light touch and a confidence in his earlier movies — I’m not dead, I won’t die for a long time so I have a long time to figure this all out. Some of his more recent movies, you can see he’s aware of his own mortality.”

Land is sure he sees an Allen less confident.

“He asks all the right questions, he just doesn’t have the right answers,” Land said with a chuckle.

In trying to find the source of the clip I stumbled on a 2010 interview with Allen in which he seems to reference the Graham chat and shows that he hasn’t changed his mind a bit. He still has no faith in any higher power and says Graham is “delusional.”

Speaking of characters in his new movie, Allen says “sooner or later, reality sets in in a crushing way. As it does and will with everybody, including Billy Graham. But it’s nice if you can delude yourself for as long as possible.”

It’s hard for me to imagine a talk being the two men being as light-hearted today.

By  |  09:58 PM ET, 10/24/2011

___________

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Michelangelo Antonioni influenced Woody Allen and was discussed by Francis Schaeffer

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Review of “To Rome with Love”

Jesse Eisenberg – Press Conference “To Rome With Love” Published on Apr 21, 2012 by portugal888 Review: Allen’s ‘Rome’ delivers lackluster love Published: Tuesday, June 19 2012 11:06 a.m. MDT By David Germain View 4 photos » This film image released by Sony Pictures Classics shows, : Alec Baldwin as John, left, and Jesse Eisenberg […]

Woody Allen, ‘To Rome With Love’ Director, Talks ‘Midnight In Paris’ Success, Acting Career

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June 14, 2012 Wall Street Journal interview of Woody Allen and he is still talking about the meaninglessness of existence

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Woody Allen’s worldview as seen in his movies

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Atheists have no basis for saying that Hitler was wrong!!!!!

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By Everette Hatcher III | Comments (0)

Arkansas series record against Alabama in football

July 11, 2012 – 8:21 am

Here is what I got off of rollbamaroll.com:

Alabama and Arkansas are odd rivals, teams whose respective conference affiliations kept them for meeting on the gridiron for most of their long histories but who have met on an annual basis since the expansion of the SEC in 1992 made them divisional foes.

It’s a rivalry without a backstory except for two memorable games played for the highest stakes — the 1962 and 1980 Sugar Bowls. Winning that first gave the Crimson Tide its first national title under Coach Paul W. Bryant and winning the second earned Alabama its last under his tenure.

The 1962 Sugar Bowll matched Coach Bryant against the Razorbacks’ own legendary head coach, Frank Broyles (who Alabama fans will also recognize for his color commentary work for ABC broadcast of the 1979 Sugar Bowl).

Alabama rolled undefeated into New Orleans’ Tulane Stadium with one of the most successful defenses the program had ever seen. The Tide had given up a total of 22 points over ten games prompting Coach Bryant to quip, “they played like it was a sin to give up a point.”

Arkbamasugar_medium

Alabama had been named the champions prior to the contest and were favored against the two-loss Hogs who were the Southwest Conference co-champions that season. Despite the differing perceptions of the two teams the game turned into a defensive battle.

The Crimson Tide took six plays to score their first touchdown which turned out to be the difference as both squads could only eke out a single field goal after that. The final score was 10-3 and Coach Bryant confessed to having “had nine heart attacks out there” due to the intensity of the contest.

“We knew when we went into the game that we were going to have trouble grinding out yardage against this team.” Broyles said after the game. “But, we never thought it would be this hard.”

Just less than two decades later, the two teams met again in the Superdome under dramatically different circumstances. Alabama – the defending national champions – were ranked No. 2 in the land and Arkansas was No. 6 as the pair squared off in the 1980 Sugar Bowl.

Alabama had blasted its way through the regular season undefeated but 1979 had proved to be tumultuous for the Razorbacks who came into New Orleans with a 10-2 record. The Hogs had upended then No. 2 Texas in Little Rock but then saw the SWC title escape them when they fell to No. 6 Houston in Fayetteville. Redemption was not in the cards for Arkansas on New Year’s Day 1980.

The Crimson Tide blasted the Razorbacks 24-9 behind a powerful running attack that earned Bama back Major Ogilve the Sugar Bowl MVP. With previously unbeaten and untied No. 1 Ohio State falling to the USC Trojans in the Rose Bowl earlier in the day, Alabama earned its 11th national championship.

After the Sugar Bowl victory, Alabama defensive lineman Byron Braggs famously quipped: “The only feeling better than playing for the national title in New Orleans on January 1 is being in Tuscaloosa on January 2 to celebrate winning it.”

Between the two legendary meetings stood one highly controversial one that didn’t transpire. After the end of the 1964 regular season the undefeated Crimson Tide were tapped as national champion by both the Associated Press and UPI “coaches poll” ahead of also-undefeated No. 2 Arkansas.

But Alabama was upended by No. 5 Texas in the Orange Bowl – a team Arkansas had bested during the season. (Arkansas topped No. 7 Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl) Since there were no further polls, Alabama retained the national championship.

The Football Writers of America in a post-bowl recognized the Razorbacks as the national champion in their separate post bowl award, The Grantland Rice trophy. Due to the controversy, the AP began the practice of selecting its national champion after the bowl games the following season.

Ironically, the first “regular season” game between the teams also had championship implications as the razorback defeat was part of Alabama’s undefeated run through 1992 which earned the Crimson Tide a berth in the Sugar Bowl against No. 1 Miami.

Star-divide

Alabama vs Arkansas Historical Record
Season W/L Score Date Location Game Info/Poll Rank
1961‡† W 10 – 3  Jan. 1, 1962 New Orleans Sugar Bowl Alabama (1) Arkansas (9)
1979‡† W 24 – 9 Jan. 1, 1980 New Orleans Sugar Bowl Alabama (2) Arkansas (6)
1992‡† W 38 – 11 Sept. 12 Little Rock, AR   Alabama (9)
1993 W 43 – 3 Sept. 18 Tuscaloosa, AL   Alabama (2)
Forfeited by the NCAA
1994 W 13 – 6 Sep. 17 Fayetteville, AR   Alabama (12)
1995 L 19 – 20 Sept. 16 Tuscaloosa, AL   Alabama (13)
1996 W 17 – 7 Sept. 21 Little Rock, AR   Alabama (13)
Alabama’s 1,000th game
1997 L 16 -17 Sept. 20 Tuscaloosa, AL   Alabama (11)
1998 L 6 – 42 Sept. 26 Fayetteville, AR   Alabama (22)
1999† W 35 – 28 Sept. 25 Tuscaloosa, AL   Alabama (14)
2000 L 21 – 28 Sept. 23 Fayetteville, AR    
2001 W 31 – 10 Sept. 22 Tuscaloosa, AL    
2002 W 30 -12 Sept. 28 Fayetteville, AR   Alabama (9)
2003 L 31 – 34 Sept. 27 Tuscaloosa, AL   2OT
2004 L 10 – 27 Sept. 25 Fayetteville, AR    
2005 W 24 – 13 Sept. 24 Tuscaloosa, AL   Alabama (20)
Vacated by the NCAA
2006 L 23 – 24 Sept. 23 Fayetteville, AR   2OT
2007 W 41 – 38 Sept. 15 Tuscaloosa, AL   Arkansas (16)
Vacated by the NCAA
2008 W 49 – 14 Sept. 20 Fayetteville, AR   Alabama (9)
2009‡† W 35 – 7 Sept. 26 Tuscaloosa, AL   Alabama (3)

‡ National Champion, † SEC Champion

Source: The University of Alabama 2010 Football Media Guide

The Alabama vs Arkansas Record Book
Record Alabama Arkansas
Most Points 49 (2008) 42 (1998)
Fewest Points 6 (1998) 3 (2 times)
Most 1st Down 24 (2 times) 28 (2003)
Fewest 1st Down 7 (1998) 7 (1962)
Most Yards Rush 328 (2008) 301 (2007)
Fewest Yards Rush 104 (1998) 64 (1999)
Most Yards Pass 327 (2007) 316 (1999)
Fewest Yards Pass 20 (1962) 49 (1993)
Most Total Plays 81 (1992) 88 (2003)
Fewest Total Plays 50 (2008) 48 (1962)
Most Yds Tot Off 552 (2002) 491 (2003)
Fewest Yds Tot Off 152 (1998) 151 (1993)
Most Yards Rush 170
(R Hudson, 2004)		 198
(C Cobbs, 1998)
Most Yards Pass 327
(JP Wilson, 07)		 316
(C Stoerner, 99)
Most Receptions 9
(M Caddell, 2007)		 7
(4 times)
Most Yards Rec 172
(DJ Hall, 2007)		 104
(A Eubanks, 1997)

Source: The University of Alabama Football Record Book

Arkansas & The Alabama Record Book
Record Place Year Statistic Holder
Most Consecutive Rushes 1st 1994 15 Sherman Williams
Most Pass Yds in QB Debut 1st 2002 285 (12 cpl, 24, att, 0 int) Brodie Croyle
Most Tackles 1st 2003 25 DeMeco Ryans
Yards per Rush (min 10 att) 1st 2008 16.2 (10 att, 162 yd, 2 td) Glen Coffee
Longest Field Goals 2nd 1998 55 yds (no tee) Ryan Pflungner
Most Pass TD in QB Debut 2nd (tie) 2002 2 Brodie Croyle
Most TD Passes 3rd (tie) 2007 4 John Parker Wilson
Highest Compl % (min 20) 4th (tie) 2006 80% (16 of 20) John Parker Wilson
Most TD Passes 4th (tie) 1993 3 Jay Barker
Most TD Passes 4th (tie) 2003 3 Brodie Croyle
Most TD Passes 4th (tie) 2006 3 John Parker Wilson
Most TD Passes 4th (tie) 2009 3 Greg McElroy
Total Touchdowns 4th (tie) 2007 4 John Parker Wilson
Longest TD Rush 4th (tie) 2008 87 yds Glen Coffee
Yards per Catch 5th 2007 28.7 (6 for 172 yd) DJ Hall
Most Pass Attempts 6th (tie) 2007 45 (24 cpl, 327 yd) John Parker Wilson
Most Points in a Loss 9th 2003 31 team
Longest Punts 10th 2005 72 yds Jeremy Schatz
Yards per Catch 10th 2006 24 (6 for 144 yd) DJ Hall
Longest Scoring Pass Play 10th 2006 78 yards John Parker Wilson to DJ Hall
Most Yards Passing 10th 2007 327 (24 of 45) John Parker Wilson
Yards per Rush (min 10 att) 12th 2002 10.8 (11 att, 119 yd, 1 td) Shaud Williams
Most Receptions 12th (tie) 2007 9 (91 yds) Matt Caddell
Longest TD Rush 16th (tie) 2003 80 Shaud Williams
Longest TD Rush 16th (tie) 2002 80 Shaud Williams

Source: The University of Alabama Football Record Book

Arkansas & The Alabama Bowl Record Book
Record Place Year/Bowl Statistic Holder
Fewest Rush 1st Downs 1st (tie) 1962 Sugar Bowl 0 team
Fewest Pass Attempts 1st (tie) 1980 Sugar Bowl 7 Steadman Shealy
Worst Punt Average 2nd 1962 Sugar Bowl 23.0  
Most QB Sacks 2nd 1980 Sugar Bowl 5 (30 yards) team
Most Rushing TDs 2nd (tie) 1980 Sugar Bowl 3 Major Ogilvie
Fewest Pass Yards 3rd 1962 Sugar Bowl 20 yards Pat Trammell
Most Yards Rushing 3rd 1980 Sugar Bowl 284 yards team
Most Fumbles Lost 3rd (tie) 1962 Sugar Bowl 3 team
Most Interceptions 4th (tie) 1962 Sugar Bowl 3 (20 yards) team
Most Rush 1st Downs 4th (tie) 1980 Sugar Bowl 14 team
Fewest Pass Attempts 5th 1962 Sugar Bowl 10 Pat Trammell
Most Int Return Yards 5th 1980 Sugar Bowl 52 yards team
Fewest Pass Completions 5th (tie) 1962 Sugar Bowl 4 Pat Trammell
Fewest Pass Completions 5th (tie) 1980 Sugar Bowl 4 Steadman Shealy
Fewest Pass 1st Downs 7th 1980 Sugar Bowl 3 team
Fewest First Downs 9th 1962 Sugar Bowl 12 team

Source: The University of Alabama Football Record Book

By Everette Hatcher III | Comments (0)

Discussion of Woody Allen’s 1989 movie “Crimes and Misdemeanors” (Part 1)

July 11, 2012 – 7:39 am

Crimes and Misdemeanors: A Discussion: Part 1

Uploaded by on Sep 23, 2007

Part 1 of 3: ‘What Does Judah Believe?’
A discussion of Woody Allen’s 1989 movie, perhaps his finest.
By Anton Scamvougeras.

http://camdiscussion.blogspot.com/
antons@mail.ubc.ca

_____________

Today I am starting a discusssion of the movie “Crimes and Misdemeanors” by Woody Allen. This 1989 movie was Allen’s best in my view.

DISCUSSING FILMS AND SPIRITUAL MATTERS
By Everette Hatcher III

“Existential subjects to me are still the only subjects worth dealing with. I don’t think that one can aim more deeply than at the so-called existential themes, the spiritual themes.” WOODY ALLEN

Evangelical Chuck Colson has observed that it used to be true that most Americans knew the Bible. Evangelists could simply call on them to repent and return. But today, most people lack understanding of biblical terms or concepts. Colson recommends that we first attempt to find common ground to engage people’s attention. That then may open a door to discuss spiritual matters.

Woody Allen’s 1989 movie, CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS , is an excellent icebreaker concerning the need of God while making decisions in the area of personal morality. In this film, Allen attacks his own atheistic view of morality. Martin Landau plays a Jewish eye doctor named Judah Rosenthal raised by a religious father who always told him, “The eyes of God are always upon you.” However, Judah later concludes that God doesn’t exist. He has his mistress (played in the film by Anjelica Huston) murdered because she continually threatened to blow the whistle on his past questionable, probably illegal, business activities. She also attempted to break up Judah ‘s respectable marriage by going public with their two-year affair. Judah struggles with his conscience throughout the remainder of the movie. He continues to be haunted by his father’s words: “The eyes of God are always upon you.” This is a very scary phrase to a young boy, Judah observes. He often wondered how penetrating God’s eyes are.

Later in the film, Judah reflects on the conversation his religious father had with Judah ‘s unbelieving Aunt May at the dinner table many years ago:

“Come on Sol, open your eyes. Six million Jews burned to death by the Nazis, and they got away with it because might makes right,” says aunt May

Sol replies, “May, how did they get away with it?”

Judah asks, “If a man kills, then what?”

Sol responds to his son, “Then in one way or another he will be punished.”

Aunt May comments, “I say if he can do it and get away with it and he chooses not to be bothered by the ethics, then he is home free.”

Judah ‘s final conclusion was that might did make right. He observed that one day, because of this conclusion, he woke up and the cloud of guilt was gone. He was, as his aunt said, “home free.”

Woody Allen has exposed a weakness in his own humanistic view that God is not necessary as a basis for good ethics. There must be an enforcement factor in order to convince Judah not to resort to murder. Otherwise, it is fully to Judah ‘s advantage to remove this troublesome woman from his life.

The Bible tells us, “{God} has also set eternity in the hearts of men…” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV). The secularist calls this an illusion, but the Bible tells us that the idea that we will survive the grave was planted in everyone’s heart by God Himself. Romans 1:19-21 tells us that God has instilled a conscience in everyone that points each of them to Him and tells them what is right and wrong (also Romans 2:14 -15).

It’s no wonder, then, that one of Allen’s fellow humanists would comment, “Certain moral truths — such as do not kill, do not steal, and do not lie — do have a special status of being not just ‘mere opinion’ but bulwarks of humanitarian action. I have no intention of saying, ‘I think Hitler was wrong.’ Hitler WAS wrong.” (Gloria Leitner, “A Perspective on Belief,” THE HUMANIST, May/June 1997, pp. 38-39)

Here Leitner is reasoning from her God-given conscience and not from humanist philosophy. It wasn’t long before she received criticism. Humanist Abigail Ann Martin responded, “Neither am I an advocate of Hitler; however, by whose criteria is he evil?” (THE HUMANIST, September/October 1997, p. 2)

The secularist can only give incomplete answers to these questions: How could you have convinced Judah not to kill? On what basis could you convince Judah it was wrong for him to murder?

As Christians, we would agree with Judah ‘s father that “The eyes of God are always upon us.” Proverbs 5:21 asserts, “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He ponders all his paths.” Revelation 20:12 states, “…And the dead were judged (sentenced) by what they had done (their whole way of feeling and acting, their aims and endeavors) in accordance with what was recorded in the books” (Amplified Version). The Bible is revealed truth from God. It is the basis for our morality. Judah inherited the Jewish ethical values of the Ten Commandments from his father, but, through years of life as a skeptic, his standards had been lowered. Finally, we discover that Judah ‘s secular version of morality does not resemble his father’s biblically-based morality.

Woody Allen’s CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS forces unbelievers to grapple with the logical conclusions of a purely secular morality. It opens a door for Christians to find common ground with those whom they attempt to share Christ; we all have to deal with personal morality issues. However, the secularist has no basis for asserting that Judah is wrong.

Larry King actually mentioned on his show, LARRY KING LIVE, that Chuck Colson had discussed the movie CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS with him. Colson asked King if life was just a Darwinian struggle where the ruthless come out on top. Colson continued, “When we do wrong, is that our only choice? Either live tormented by guilt, or else kill our conscience and live like beasts?” (BREAKPOINT COMMENTARY, “Finding Common Ground,” September 14, 1993)

Later, Colson noted that discussing the movie CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS with King presented the perfect opportunity to tell him about Christ’s atoning work on the cross. Colson believes the Lord is working on Larry King. How about your neighbors? Is there a way you can use a movie to find common ground with your lost friends and then talk to them about spiritual matters?

(Caution: CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS is rated PG-13. It does include some adult themes.)

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Viva La Vida Published on Jun 23, 2012 by TheRyanj64 Coldplay’s Viva La Vida at American Airlines Center in Dallas on June 22, 2012 __________ Coldplay brought confetti, lights and thousands of fans to the American Airlines Center; see photos from their colorful show Photo Gallery News Sports Lifestyles   Comments (0)   5/11 Chris […]

“Woody Wednesdays” Woody Allen on God and Death

Good website on Woody Allen How can I believe in God when just last week I got my tongue caught in the roller of an electric typewriter? If Jesus Christ came back today and saw what was being done in his name, he’d never stop throwing up. If only God would give me some clear […]

Michelangelo Antonioni influenced Woody Allen and was discussed by Francis Schaeffer

Francis Schaeffer discussed modern films and how they showed the state of man. That is why I like Woody Allen’s films so much. He knows what the big issues are in life and even though he present the right answers he does grapple with the right questions. Michelangelo Antonioni heavily influenced Allen and below is […]

Review of “To Rome with Love”

Jesse Eisenberg – Press Conference “To Rome With Love” Published on Apr 21, 2012 by portugal888 Review: Allen’s ‘Rome’ delivers lackluster love Published: Tuesday, June 19 2012 11:06 a.m. MDT By David Germain View 4 photos » This film image released by Sony Pictures Classics shows, : Alec Baldwin as John, left, and Jesse Eisenberg […]

Woody Allen, ‘To Rome With Love’ Director, Talks ‘Midnight In Paris’ Success, Acting Career

How To Recover From a Break Up With Greta Gerwig Published on May 16, 2012 by younghollywood Young Hollywood is hanging out in NYC during the Tribeca film festival, where we chat with rising star Greta Gerwig about her hip slice-of-life movie, ‘Lola Versus’. Greta offers up some advice on how to get over a […]

June 14, 2012 Wall Street Journal interview of Woody Allen and he is still talking about the meaninglessness of existence

TO ROME WITH LOVE – conferenza stampa con Allen, Benigni e Cruz http://WWW.RBCASTING.COM Published on Apr 18, 2012 by RBcasting http://www.rbcasting.com Conferenza stampa del film “To Rome With Love”, scritto e diretto da Woody Allen. Tra gli interpreti, lo stesso Allen, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Penelope Cruz, Judy Davis, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page e Greta […]

Woody Allen’s worldview as seen in his movies

  I love the movie Crimes and Misdemeanors and have written on it many times in the past. This quote below sums up Woody Allen’s worldview which I disagree with. In fact, the person who said this actually could not live with its conclusions in the movie and committed suicide.   Because Allen continues to […]

Atheists have no basis for saying that Hitler was wrong!!!!!

On April 30, 2012 (67 years after Hitler killed himself) I stated on the Arkansas Times Blog: Hitler’s last few moments of life were filled with anxiety as they should have been. He went on to face his maker and pay dearly for his many sins. When I look at the never before released pictures […]

“Woody Wednesday” Will Allen and Martin follow same path as Kansas to Christ?

Several members of the 70′s band Kansas became committed Christians after they realized that the world had nothing but meaningless to offer. It seems through the writings of both Woody Allen and Chris Martin of Coldplay that they both are wrestling with the issue of death and what meaning does life bring. Kansas went through […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Comments (0)

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) HD Exclusive Featurette – Making of the film

July 10, 2012 – 7:51 am

From Yahoo News:

Can’t wait two more weeks until the final installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy hits theaters?

You’re in luck. Warner Bros. has released a 13-minute extended sneak-peek for The Dark Knight Rises, featuring interviews with the cast, a behind the scenes look at the movie-making process and scenes from the flick set to hit theaters July 20.

“Chris [Nolan] was able to amp up the stakes for this last movie,” says Dark Knight star Anne Hathaway, “and really take it to places that I don’t think anyone’s expecting.”

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) HD Exclusive Featurette – Making of the film

Published on Jul 7, 2012 by

Plot: Eight years after Batman took the fall for Two Face’s crimes, a new terrorist leader, Bane, overwhelms Gotham’s finest, and the Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy.

Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Jonathan Nolan (screenplay), Christopher Nolan (screenplay)
Stars: Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman

By Everette Hatcher III | Comments (0)