LEAD THOU ME ON

"Lead Thou Me On: Hymns and Inspiration" BYU Vocal Point (2014, Clean) 9/10 stars ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ Hymns, Pop, Spiritual

☆10 Stars☆

1. Lead, Kindly Light

2. All Creatures Of Our God And King

5. He Is Born

7. I Stand All Amazed

11. Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing

13. Nearer My God To Thee

☆9 Stars☆

3. I Need Thee Every Hour

8. Be Still My Soul

12. Savior, Redeemer Of My Soul

☆8 Stars☆

4. Danny Boy

6. Noyana/Come Come Ye Saints

10. Infant Holy, Infant Lowly

☆7 Stars☆

9. We All Need Saving

#byu #vocalpoint #hymn #churchofjesuschristoflatterdaysaints

TAKE OFF YOUR PANTS AND JACKET

"Take Off Your Pants And Jacket" Blink 182 (2001, Explicit) 7/10 stars ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ Punk Rock

☆10 stars☆

3. First Date

7. Stay Together For The Kids

☆9 Stars☆

1. Anthem Part 2 (E)

5. Story Of A Lonely Guy (E)

10. Every time I Look For You

☆8 Stars☆

6. The Rock Show (E)

11. Give Me One Good Reason (E)

12. Shut Up (E)

☆7 Stars☆

2. Online Songs (E)

8. Roller Coaster (E)

☆5 Stars☆

4. Happy Holidays, You Bastard (E)

9. Reckless Abandon (E)

13. Please Take Me Home

#blink182 #takeoffyourpantsandjacket #tomdelonge #travisbarker #markhoppus #rock #punk #mattskiba

WANDAVISION

"WandaVision" Marvel Studios, Disney+ (2021) Directed by Matt Shakman 7/10 stars. Action, Adventure, Romance 

Positive: Wandavision is a pretty good show from Marvel Studios. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I really enjoyed their travels through the history of television. It wasn’t super impressive but I did have fun along the way especially for its parodies of classics like the Dick Van Dyke Show. Some episodes were very slow and I was left a bit confused sometimes. Heavy CGI is never super impressive but the show did look very polished and seemed to have a decent budget. My favorite aspect of the show was definitely the characters and being able to see a deeper aspect of these characters and their relationships. The show had a great cast also which added to the fun.

#marvel #disney #disneyplus #wandavision #wanda #vision #avengers #dickvandyke #elizabetholsen #paulbettany

US AGAIN

"Us Again" Walt Disney Animation (2021, G) Directed by Zach Parrish. 9/10 stars ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ Short Subject, Romance

Positive: “Us Again” is beautiful. It’s a look at the past and how to come to grips with the present. Though we all love things of the nostalgic past, it’s sometimes a challenge to find the fun and happiness in everyday present life. This short nearly brought me to tears and reminded me of my own life and relationship with my wife. For those of you who are fans of Disney’s California Adventure, there is a fun Easter egg in this short also.

#disney #usagain #rayaandthelastdragon #zachparrish #romance #animation #2021

RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON

"Raya and the Last Dragon" Walt Disney Animation (2021, PG) Directed by Don Hall, Carlos López Estrada. 7/10 stars ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Drama, Comedy

Positive: Raya and the Last Dragon was a decent hit for Disney. Its definitely got that modern Disney quirkiness and some childish elements but it actually was a fun ride. It gets a little lost in its own lore a bit, but it really isn't something you can take too seriously. The runtime felt a little long in places and probably could have benefitted from a little fine tuning but overall I had a good time at the theatre. Its short film "Us Again" was delightful and Raya itself was a fun escape for a bit. The experience of the cinema for a movie like this is a must for its stunning visuals and breathtaking animation. The musical score only added to the beauty and exciting action scenes. Raya and her pals kicked butt and it was pretty awesome. The characters were well cast and the character development was refreshing. Of course there was a little feminism which I thought was annoying as usual, but its easy to overlook in this film. Thankfully it wasn't too preachy or anything and it had a great moral about unity and trust. Overall it was a delight and I thought it was a good sign that Disney hasn't completely ran out of ideas. Story-wise it was a little convoluted and I got lost in places but it was nice to see a fresh creative original tale. There was some slight annoying potty-humor but overall very family friendly. That stupid baby wouldn't shut up but there has to be an annoying sidekick in all these new cartoons for some reason so it wasn't as bad as expected. With (mostly) loveable characters and a unique look at dragon lore, this film will be loved for years to come.

I'M A LEGO

 Thanks to my little brother I am a lego figure!

He has a phenomenal YouTube channel which I will link here.

 

THE STORY OF ROBIN HOOD AND HIS MERRY MEN

  

Medicore: "The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men" is not particularly memorable in long-view but I did enjoy it's moments of acting and it's whimsical 1950's Disney charm. It's one of the few Walt-era Disney films I hadn't yet seen till adulthood and I wish I had seen it sooner. The nostalgia really helps me fall in love with a straight production like this but it's a very welcome addition to my library.

From D23:

"Released on June 26, 1952. Directed by Ken Annakin. 84 min. Stars Richard Todd as Robin, Joan Rice as Maid Marian, Peter Finch as the Sheriff, Hubert Gregg as Prince John, and Patrick Barr as King Richard. The second Disney fully live-action feature, produced at Denham Studios in England with blocked funds that Walt Disney had been unable to get out of the country. Early plans had called for the film to be cast with actors from Treasure Island, including Bobby Driscoll as a member of Robin’s band and Robert Newton as Friar Tuck. Released on video in 1987 and 1992."

REVAMP TIME

Hello to all of you out in 2021 and beyond! I don't think it's too far off of me to say that for awhile now, things have been a little crazy!

I have wanted to come back to this blog for so long. My life has been busy with many adjustments in the last couple years but happy to report I am alive and well. Currently residing in Arizona with my beautiful wife and loving each day spent with her.

When I'm not slaving away at my job, I love rating and critiquing films and music! I have an Instagram account and Facebook page I update semi-regularly that I will link below... 

 Follow me on Facebook 

 Follow me on Instagram

I am excited for what I have to share with you in the coming days! I have a couple of surprises in store for you so stay tuned for plenty of life updates, reviews and more!! 

As Walt Disney once said,  "...we keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."

MISSION BLOG

I have created a second blog devoted to sharing insights and experiences from my mission to Washington State. 

It's "My Washington USA Mission" (deanmissionblog.blogspot.com). 

Unlike this blog, this one is public.

Check out it's first post here!

Enjoy!

BLOG REBOOT

Hey.

Dean here.

If you couldn't tell.

I've been home from my mission for like... 6 months now? And after all this time, I just remembered these neat things called blogs. No one reads them anymore or seems to remember them. Everything is Facebook and Instagram and geez, even email is becoming an archaeic thing of the past. Anyways...

Despite the fact that no one will probably care, I have dedcided to reboot this skeleton of a blog I once updated frequently many years ago... (2014... Well, I got kinda busy) ;)

I have been wracking my brain, trying to think of a way to save all the incredible memories and experiences I've had over the last 2-3 years and document them for myself and others to enjoy. (Hopefully others enjoy it...)

I used to update all 3 of y'all with news from my favorite fandoms and basically whatever else was on my mind at the time (not much). However, I want to move away from that a bit. I still love those things and I'm still essentially the same Dean, but now my perspective has deepened and I see things in a different way. I may share some fun Disney news or whatevs if I feel like it, but mainly I want to share insights and experiences from my life that have real meaning and hey, maybe can help you along the way! Many of my friends no longer live close to me, so in this way you can stay updated on me and I can keep contact with you! Hoping to have some sort of consistency with this, but... you might be lucky to get a new post, oh, maybe once a week or so.

What's been happenin' in my life lately? Not much honestly. I'm cashiering (among other things) at Walmart and having such a BLAST! (Do you speak sarcasm?) I'm saving up for big future expenses (Car, School, Housing, Future fam-bam, LIFE!!) and I'm getting... somewhere... very... slowly... but I am doing well! (Really though, it is a great job, just not a glamorous one). Some are born for retail... Me? I tolerate it!

I've been drawing (not as much as I'd like) and I've also gotten into writing thanks to one of my close friends. I don't know where these ideas are coming from! I am usually not a creative idea person. It's been a nice way to get things off my mind a bit. Things could be sooo much worse. I really do live a great life and have a great family, but admittedly the transition from mission to coming home has been a challenge in different ways. We all have our unique circumstances, and boy are mine unique!

Well, without further ado! (and before I run out of material)

Welcome (again) to my blog!!!

...pardon my dust...

I'm currently brainstorming and re-designing so... sorry if it looks kinda broken at the moment.. I'm almost there...

Have an incredibly fantastic day! I love all 3 of you who just read this (You know who you are...)

Bye!

-CDB

TWO VILLAINS

Richard Paul Evans

Author Richard Paul Evans was at the Boise Deseret Book today for a booksigning and me and mom got to go!!

Here he is speaking before the signing began...

His most recent book "Michael Vey 3" made the NY Times Bestseller list; beating The Hunger Games. 10 people have offered him movie deals, but he refused them all. None were big enough!! Here I am in line after buying the book...

His son Cody was there with him and he took these two pictures for us:

We were near the entrance of the store when he arrived and there was a little fridge behind us with drinks in it and yep, I helped hand those two blue waters over for him to drink, haha!

He signed: "To Dean, Richard & Glenn's #1 fan" (Glenn Beck's publishing co. published this series)

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY MAKE YOUR OWN MONSTER

Hello. My name is Dean Blinkington.

I am starting my Freshman year of college at the prestigious "Monsters University".

My dream is to become a scare-er at Monsters Incorporated.

Create your own here!

http://disney.go.com/monsters-university/create-a-monster/