What I'm thankful for

I'm not generally given to thoughts about what I'm thankful for, but I thought that it seemed like the best topic, considering my family's only tradition is traveling somewhere for thanksgiving and that's not happening this year. So I decided to consider what I'm thankful for. And what I'm thankful for is benevolent people. There are a lot of malevolent, angry, unhelpful, greedy, selfish, people in this world. So I'm thankful for the people that aren't. All those people who love everyone else, who try to be helpful, who truly wish everyone the best. Those people are the reason the human race still exists. And I'm thankful for that.

On entitlement

Frankly, I don't think anyone is entitled to anything. You need to work for your stuff! Probably the most obscene example of entitlement I've heard about was a family that was so obese that they couldn't go out and work, so they had to get money from the government to stay alive. But that's not all. They claimed that because they were all obese, they were entitled to more money to support their lifestyles. I think that's disgusting and the government should stop giving support to bottom feeders like them. Like I said, no one is entitled to anything. Except for whiny people who think they're entitled to good treatment. All they're entitled to is a swift kick in the rear. You need to work to succeed. I used to not have to work for good grades. When I got to high school, I finally realized that I wasn't entitled to those grades. I was just smart and I wasn't having to work. And that wasn't going to fly in high school. So I started working and I started succeeding. Simple, isn't it? If you can work, and you've got skills then you've got a good chance at success. Who you know and where you've been help, but they're not essential. So I think those whiners from good families can take their pedigrees and toss them. Because in my world, you work for your success!

Animoto: Justice for All

Claim: The world is filled with crime and injustice and the justice system must be strong to oppose it.
Reasons: Without the justice system, the country will collapse into corruption, theft and murder. The justice system isn't as strong as it should be and the punishments aren't as punitive as they should be. Criminals need to be harshly dealt with, otherwise people won't take the punishments seriously and will continue committing crimes.
Warrant: The justice system prevents crimes.

In terms of the images I chose, I put negative images first (Theft, corruption, deception), then followed it with images dealing with justice (Supreme court, gavel, court scene) and ended it with fireworks, symbolizing the demise of the criminal and the victory of justice. I put them in that order to show what the problems with the world are, then show the justice system solving those problems. I did essentially use climactic order, starting with the evil and rolling up to the good. These images serve as the reasons because the evil images show the crimes that are running rampant and the good images show justice being meted out, which is one of the reasons we need the justice system.

In terms of the music I chose, it took a while to decide. I tried a few pieces, including O Fortuna and No More Sorrow, but finally decided on Thunderization because it felt the best. The dramatic tune underlines the importance of the message I'm sending. I anticipate that it will have the effect of keeping them on the edge of their seats, since Thunderization is exciting music and should keep their attentions. The musical line is hard hitting and fast paced. In terms of dynamics, it's all fortissimo or forte for the whole piece. The piece is entirely instrumental, with a hint of electronic music. The trumpets are very noticable, which is an important part for me. In the olden days, judges were announced by trumpets sounding. If I had chosen different images, with more climactic order, I probably would've used O Fortuna, since it doesn't just jump into the exciting music, but rather climbs slowly up to the pounding drums and blaring trumpets.