Media Priorities

I had an interesting experience with a professor this week.  I am a research assistant and we were having our weekly research meeting.  During our meeting the professor's phone rang.  He looked to see who it was and then said, "It's my wife, I need to answer this".  I was a little surprised, since we were in a meeting, and was half expecting his wife to be calling in an emergency.  The professor answered the phone and I heard his wife say. "I was just calling to say hi and see how your day was going".  The professor had a quick conversation with his wife, told her he was in a research meeting and then asked if he could call her back.

After he got off the phone he explained to the other research assistant and I that a few years ago he was in a meeting with a "BYU big-wig".  During that meeting the man's wife called and the "big-wig" answered the phone.  The professor went on to explain that since then he has decided that his wife is more important than anything else he is doing, so when she calls he answers.

I thought that was the sweetest thing, but also THE BEST ATTITUDE I have ever heard.    Phones are a source of media, and we need to use them properly.  I am not saying that anytime your phone rings you should answer it, duh, that is rude! But to setting the priority that YOUR SPOUSE is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing, that is amazing. 

My hubby!!

I want to adopt the attitude of the professor, when my husband calls... I am going to answer it... no matter what. He is THAT IMPORTANT to me! Talking to my husband is my top media priority!

Mater's Tall Tales

This week my husband and I finally got streaming Netflix on our TV.  One of the first programs that I saw was "Cars Toon Mater's Tall Tales".  Being the HUGE, GIGANTIC Cars fan that I am I HAD to see it!  We didn't have a lot of free time so we just watched about 10 minutes at a time and I LOVED IT!

For those of you who have not see it, Mater's Tall Tales is a collection of short stories that Mater tells his best friend Lightning McQween.  Mater tells the story of being a Dare Devil (Mater the Greater), being a rock star (Heavy Metal Mater), being a firetruck, being a Monster Truck, being a street racing truck and my personal favorite... meeting an alien named Mator (pictured below) 

The show was definitely child oriented, but had enough good jokes to be enjoyable for adults.  While watching each of Mater's Tall Tales I could not help but think that they were perfectly set up for kids.  They were short, but fun.  Similar elements were found in each one, for example in each story Mater goes along telling the story, Lightning McQween interrupts and asks "So what happened" and then Mater replies, "Well don't you remember, you were there!" and then inserts Lightning McQueen into the story.  I think that kind of simple plot line is great for kids, the repeating element can help kids know what is coming next.  I also really liked that it was a bunch of short stories.  That made it great for a 5-10 minute watch before bed at night, because the stories ended providing a good stopping place instead of a movie where you either have to finish or stop in the middle.

If you have not watched Mater's Tall Tales and you like Cars, you should check it out!

Do you miss summer? I do!

Frozen is the most recent animated Disney movie.  I went to see it with my family the day after Thanksgiving and loved it.  I actually have not met or heard of anyone who didn't like Frozen, it is that good!  So if you haven't seen it, you should!

In the past week I have listened to the music from Frozen twice, on two different days.  But I have woken up with a song from Frozen stuck in my head each morning. I love music, but I am not a "song in my heart" kind of girl, so it is unusual for me to wake up with a song in my head.  But for some reason this week, Frozen has been my theme.  Maybe I am just too cold and ready for summer.

"In Summer" is a song about summer, from the perspective of the snowman Olaf.  Personally, I am sick and tired of winter and I can't wait until spring and summer come.  This song is good for a laugh and helps sooth my strong desire for summer to be here RIGHT NOW! :-) 

"Sometimes I like to close my eyes and imagine what it would be like when summer does come"

-Olaf, Frozen

Labels not make you happy...

I am bad, and thats good.

I will never be good, and thats not bad.

There is no one I would rather be than me.

~Bad Guy Affirmation, Wreck-It-Ralph

I recently watched the Disney movie Wreck-It-Ralph.  Not only is the movie super cute and way fun, but I also think that it has a great message!  I think Wreck-It-Ralph is a movie about self esteem, loving yourself and being happy with who you are.

The movie begins with a meeting of Bad-anon, where all the bad guys from each of the games meets together to talk about their lives, problems ect.  Ralph shares that he is tried of being the "Bad Guy".  Then Zombie says something profound, "Labels not make you happy...good... bad... urrr... you must love you!".

That is the theme for the rest of the movie, learning who you are and loving yourself.  Ralph learns to love being the "Bad Guy" in Fix if Felix.  Vanellope learns to love being a glitch.

Wreck-It-Ralph is one of those movies that I just feel good watching.  I think I feel so good when I watch it because of the positive message.

I am Bethany Cline.

There is no one I would rather be, than me! 

I don't think men are idiots... do you?

This weekend I finally made the time to put away my Christmas decorations.  I was really sad to see them go, but I enjoyed an afternoon of Boy Meets World while I was doing it.  I really love Boy Meets World.  I think, for the most part, it is a good family show with pretty good values.  But I noticed a theme I did not agree with that ran through most of the 5th Season episodes I was watching....

"Men are idiots, and they have been since the beginning of time"

What?!?!  I personally think men are wonderful!  (Not that there are not a few idiots out there, but in general they are great!)  There were multiple times where the male characters just came out and said it, "Men are idiots".  I am not sure how many boys ever watched the show, but what kind of lesson is that teaching them?  That it is ok to act like an idiot?  And what about the girls who watched the show, do we really want to give our daughters, sisters, nieces and ourselves the impression that men are idiots?  I know I don't!

In addition to the remarks about being idiots there was also a theme of men not being able to understand women.  Again, I think this is silly.  Men and women are different (duh!) but not so different that we cannot understand (and respect) each other.  There have been very few times (read: one or two) in my 18 months of marriage that my husband has not been able to understand me because I am speaking "woman-ese".  And even then he has found ways to be thoughtful and kind and he really tried to figure out where I was coming from.

So I love Boy Meets World, but I also love men.  They are not idiots, they can understand women and in my opinion most guys are pretty great!

My Media "Selfie"

I really wasn't sure how to start this blog.  I could not just start out of no where, with no background.  So here is what I am calling "My Media 'Selfie'".  My name is Bethany Cline and this post is all about the media I love!

My Favorite Disney Movie Character

Hands down my favorite Disney Movie Character is Mater from Cars.  I love the Cars movies and Mater is the Star!!  He is so funny, so cute and such a good friend.  He has amazing one-liners such as, "To not to" or "I want to siphon your gas".  Gosh, he is just the best!

My husband and I meeting Mater at Disneyland

 My Favorite Disney Princess

Sometimes I joke with my husband that Mater is my favorite Disney Princess... not because I think he is girlie, but just because I love him that much.  But if Mater was not an option Princess Tiana, from Princess and the Frog is definitely my favorite.  I love her work ethic, her drive, her confidence and her no nonsense attitude.  And of course the music from Princess and the Frog is wonderful! 

My Other Favorite Disney Character

Confession time, I am a total Disney Buff.  I love Disney movies, Disney music, Disneyland, Disney World.  So yes, I have three categories of "Favorite Disney Characters".  My Other Favorite Disney Character is Mickey Mouse.  Oh my goodness I love him!!  But he gets me into trouble sometimes... if a product has Mickey Mouse on it I want it.  This is a bad thing!  I do not need a "training toothbrush" or other products made for children but I want them because Mickey Mouse is advertising them.  Ugh! :-)  Last October my husband and I went to Disneyland to celebrate his birthday.  We are both afraid of heights and have never been on a Ferris Wheel before, for good reason.  But at California Adventure they have a very large (and scarey) Ferris Wheel WITH MICKEY MOUSE'S FACE ON IT!  Do you think I got on that stinkin thing... Yup!  And I was scared out of my pants the WHOLE TIME! But as soon as I got off and saw that cute little mouse face again I wanted to get right back on it.  Marketing that involves Mickey Mouse works on me every time.

See Mickey's face... that is the Ferris Wheel... of doom!

Getting on the Ferris Wheel

I was totally faking in this picture... I was so scared!

Ahh!!

My Favorite Movies

Movies are my thing!  I love movies!  My husband and I are on the selective side, so we do not watch a lot of adult movies but we do see some.  So here is my list of my very favorite movies:

Cars

Cars 2

 Inception

Thor

The Avengers

Pride and Prejudice

Princess and the Frog

My Favorite TV Shows

My husband and I do not currently have TV so my TV exposure is pretty limited.  When I really like I show I always try to buy it on DVD or from Amazon instant play so I can watch it.  Here is a list of my very favorite TV shows:

7th Heaven

Boy Meets World

The Bachelor

The Bachelorette

I bet you would not have put the first two with the last two! So I like good family TV and reality trash TV.  I own every season of 7th Heaven and I have watched them all at least twice, if not three or four times.  I love the good family values, the hard topics each episode brings up and it is just so darn fun watching those Camden kids grow up.  I can tell I am getting older though, because who I identify with in the show keeps changing.  It used to be the kids but now I identify more with Annie and Eric.  I am currently watching Boy Meets World (I get the DVDs from Netflix and they are on my "I want it list").  I really like watching Cory, Shawn, Topanga and Eric grow up.  I love watching Cory and Topanga fall in love.  Ahh the Bachelor and the Bachelorette.  Those shows are so trashy, but I love them!  They always make me so thankful that I was the only woman my husband was dating, and that he was the only man I was dating.  I am also very grateful for the real life things my husband and I do together when I see the crazy things the Bachelor and Bachelorette do.

My Favorite Music

My favorite musician of all time is Micheal Jackson.  I own almost every song he ever made, I have DVD's of his concerts,  I have read (and own) his Autobiography, "This is It" was the last movie I watched before I left on my mission and the Jackson 5 was the first group I listened to when I got home from my mission.  Of course I listen to other stuff, but Micheal is my "go-to".  I love watching him preform, he was such an amazing entertainer.  His music is amazing.  He transitioned between era's so well!

My Favorite Books

Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors.  I love her stories so much.  My favorites are "Pride and Prejudice" and "Sense and Sensibility". I really enjoy the formality of everything in Jane Austen's stories.  I love the love stories and how there is always a happy ending.  I recently read a series by an LDS author about Lehi's family called "Out of Jerusalem".  There are four books in the series and they were amazing!  It really opened up the world of the Book of Mormon to me.  I also love the Harry Potter Books.  My husband and I listen to them on CD... if you have never done that you HAVE to try it!  They are amazing!

Well, now you know a little about me and the media that fills my life.  I am a Jane Austen and Micheal Jackson loving Disney Buff.  I also love Facebook and I love blogging and I love reading other people's blogs.  If you ever want to know way more about me than you could ever care about check out my blog... newlywedclines.blogspot.com. And leave a comment with your blog if you have one... I would love to read it!