Thursday, 22 March 2012

The Bandidos

Early morning April 8 2006, the corpse of eight Bandidos were found in the docile fields of Shedden Ontario. Just a small village about 20 minutes out side of London. The strange amount of vehicles were the first thing to alert local residences of some strange behaviour early that day. The six men and women where convicted of first degree murder. This 3 year process convicted Wayne Kellestine, 60, Michael Sandham, 40, and Dwight Mushey, 41, of eight counts each of first degree murder. And Frank Mather, 36, and Marcelo Aravena, 33, are found guilty of one count each of manslaughter and seven counts each of first-degree murder. Said to be the biggest massacre in Ontario history. Wayne Kellestine was the bandidos ring leader at the time and was no stranger to biker gangs , Wayne has been the leader of several biker gangs from all over the Central Elgin area. As mentioned before the 8 victims were all members or associates of the bandido gang, it was then later reported that this was an exicution style killing because the 8 victims in many ways crossed this merciless gang. Each accused member pleaded not guilty, and Wayne Kellestine himself had a very convincing video statement broadcasted by the London free press where he says “How could you even ask me that question?!” in offence as the interrogating detective asks him if he was apart of the slaughter in the small village of Shedden. The BBC reported that there officials said that the killing was an internal cleansing of the gangs infrastructure. The first to find this horrific scene was a local farmer and his wife who found the cars in the field with blankets covering the windows to hide the terrifying tragedy that took place inside. One of the police's top informants reported that wayne had gone insane and when a hostage's phone went off he was told “...not to do anything f------ stupid.” So this man answered his phone to tell his wife he would be home in a matter of hours and little did she know this would be the last time she would here here husbands voice when he later put a gun to the back of this mans head. This happened in 7 other horrific deaths that Wayne and the other 5 committed. Although with these men in women behind bars for life and 25 years pourrole.

Bibliography
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4897670.stm
          

Monday, 12 December 2011

Great Characters

 
Growing up, everyone has a favourite movie character that they look up to or idolize in one way or another. For me, I was always fascinated with super heroes such as Batman and Superman, probably because of how cool I thought they looked. Looking back, I really had no clue about what my favourite characters were actually like. I just thought they looked cool, and that was all that mattered to me. Nowadays, as a media fundamentals student, I tend to analyze characters in movies a lot more closely. What I've realized is that movies that consist of a variety of original, yet complex characters are often the best. A great example of this would be John Hughes' Breakfast Club. The movie revolves around 5 vastly different individuals who over the course of the movie grow more and more alike. I think what makes this movie so good is that it shows the transition these characters go through in terms of revealing their pasts and realizing that they aren't all that different. They are all very easy to relate to in at least one way or another, which leads the viewer to feel more emotionally connected to the characters onscreen. Thus, leaving a lasting impact on the viewer.

Early....Morning.........Classes


Well, I think every other college student has the same opinion as me but I'm gonna say it anyways. Schools should get rid of 8am classes! Unfortunately this class was an 8am class and I'm sure my marks will reflect that. I've convinced myself that my body cannot physically function at such an early time. Even the days that I do somehow manage to wake up that early I find myself sitting in class focusing more on not falling asleep then on what the teacher is talking about. And by the time the class is over, I feel like I haven't retained any of the information at all. Not only are 8am classes despised by the students, but I feel as if the teachers dislike them just as much as we do. I couldn't imagine how terrible it would be trying to teach to a classroom full of sleep-deprived zombies. I feel like if I could've taken this class at a different time, my marks and my overall knowledge of the subject would both increase. Note to self- change my schedule next semester to avoid 8am classes.

Violence in Video Games



Probably one of the most discussed topics among moms and other over-analytical people would be violence in video games. It is a topic that will forever remain unsettled and in my mind is a waste of time and thought. Sure violence in video games can have an impact on what a child does, however you must keep in mind the various other areas where children are exposed to violence. I see 11 year old kids nowadays walking around with the newest iphone or blackberry smartphones. Most of them probably come from a home that has not only one computer, but one for each room. Not to mention all the content they are exposed to over the TV alone. Even the news itself can't help but expose children to the horrors of war over seas, and the deadly riots we see happening more and more often around the globe. The problem is that the majority of adults and parents who are worried about violence in video games don't completely understand what exactly their kids have access to. All of these iphones and laptops are a new technology to many older people, and they don't realize what they are capable. So I think that violence in video games is just a fraction of the problem as far as violence among our youth is concerned, and parents need to learn more about what they are giving their children access to.

Copywrite Issues and Piracy


In the recent years there has been a huge issue regarding people illegally downloading music and videos off the internet. Obviously it's the artists and record labels who suffer the most from this, however keep in mind how rich they already are. I understand how one can argue that artists don't realize if you buy or download one or two songs but over time it'll add up. This is when I have to bring up the fact that without programs such as Napster (the first free online music download site), the internet we've all grown so accustomed to might not be the way it is today. Napster, along with several other websites of this nature, are what helped get the internet to where it is today. They helped show people what the internet is capable of, and just how easy it is to sell stuff online. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't completely agree with people who say downloading music and movies illegally is bad.

Storylines in Movies


People always say a good story is what makes a good movie. This may be true in many cases, however in my opinion it is the movies that have little to no storyline at all that really stand out to me. One of my all time favourite movies that features almost no storyline at all would have to be Dazed and Confused. The entire movie takes place over the course of one night, and follows a class of seniors as they graduate high school and attend the year end party. Such a simple story, yet it remains just as entertaining no matter how many times I watch it. I can't say the same for a lot of movies that have great big intricate, twisting storylines because once I watch it once or twice the storyline no longer grabs my attention. Movies like Dazed and Confused and Fast Times at Ridgemont High are movies that I can watch and not fully pay attention to, yet still have the same feeling about once the movie finishes. If I stop and talk to my friend for a second I won't miss anything too important. And it is mainly that reason that causes me to enjoy movies with extremely simple storylines the most.

Webisodes



With the internet advancing at such a high rate there is no doubt that the number of people watching TV shows and movies online is rivaling that of the number of people who watch their favourite TV shows and movies on an actual TV. And with websites such as youtube and vimeo, it is no longer necessary to be on TV in order to get people to watch your show. The internet is packed with amateur content, and since it is free to share your videos with the world many people are taking advantage of this. Perhaps one of the best examples of this would be Epic Meal Time, a Canadian-based internet series that shows a group of friends getting drunk and making ridiculously big meals. Sounds simple right? Well they've since gone on to land an entire clothing line, a cross-Canada tour where they perform live, they've even appeared on the Jay Leno Show. This is a perfect example of how Webisodes can actually become more popular than many TV shows. I've posted a video above of a few guys I think are extremely funny. They too are a Canadian based group of friends who post weekly webisodes of two guys discussing the most random topics. They call the series Ponderings, and in my mind these webisodes are more entertaining than most things I see on TV.