“Unplanned”, is the newest film by the Christian filmmaker PureFlix. The directors of the movie are Cary Soloman and Chuck Konzleman.
It opened in limited theaters on March 29, 2019. Opening weekend was better than expected for the movie. They were only expected to have a gross profit of 3 million dollars, but to the shock of many, the movie doubled that with a profit of 6.1 million. That is the most money Pureflix has made at the box-office on opening weekend since God Is Not Dead 2 which had a profit of 7.6 million.
This is truly a remarkable feat for the movie, considering it had no network broadcast advertisement or backing of any sort. It was also attacked heavily on social media all the way up to its release.
The movie tells the true story of Abby Johnson who worked at Planned Parenthood in Bryan, Texas. She was the youngest director of a clinic in the company’s history and was also their employee of the year.
The movie starts when Abby is in college. At this point, like many college students Abby is a young and impressionable person. She meets Planned Parenthood advocates on campus who persuade her to come volunteer at the clinic. Uncertain about the decision, Abby reluctantly goes and is soon sold on the idea that planned parenthood is a good and worthy cause to advocate for.
Throughout the movie, there is a constant clash between what she thinks is right and what her family thinks is right. Eventually, Abby’s heart is changed, when she is asked to help with an abortion. They’re she finally realizes that this baby inside the woman does have feelings as it fights from being sucked out of the mother’s womb.
Seeing the movie for myself, I commend Pureflix for the job they did in making this film. The movie despite contrary belief is not overly gory and gruesome. It’s done very tastefully and appropriately.
The rating of R is a misrepresentation for this movie and is another scare tactic to not get people to see it. You can go and see a PG-13 movie that is a lot more violent and disturbing than this movie.
Some issue I have with the movie, are the way they portray the Planned Parenthood people. They are looked at like villains and people who are deliberately trying to be evil.
Like Abby, many of these people believe that the work they are doing is good. They are either confused or don’t understand what they are doing. Painting these people in such a negative light is a turnoff for people who strongly support the other side of the issue.
Despite the setbacks, the film’s overlying message of hope and forgiveness through unimaginable evil pulls through.
The movie has already changed the lives of so many people across this country. Most inspiring are the stories of the woman who were considering aborting their child, but after seeing this movie decided to against it.
I think a misconception that is put to rest by this movie, is that Planned Parenthood is the only organization out there that have womens back who are dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. There are groups out there that help women deal with problems of unplanned pregnancies, that don’t offer abortions and the movie sheds light on that.
In my opinion, take the time and see the movie for yourself. Go into it with an open mind and make judgments about it for yourself. It might change your life or at least open you up to the viewpoints to people on the other side of a controversial issue.
That what speed do
You had to see it to believe it. A phrase used to describe something crazy or extortionary that unless seen in person, is hard to believe.
In my twenty-three years of life, I have had only one of these moments. It occurred on a seemingly normal day at Kauffman Stadium in mid-July of 2016.
The score was 3-2 in favor of the Kansas City Royals. They had just made a miraculous comeback on what had been a solid Cleveland Indian bullpen all season, thanks to a pinch-hit double by Christian Colon.
A change in pitchers from Bryan Shaw to Jeff Manship didn’t do the trick as Paulo Orlando singled to bring in the go-ahead run.
Excited I jumped out of my seat and started cheering with the other fans. Finally, I have gotten my money’s worth out of this game.
Manship like Shaw struggled with his control as he walked the next batter, Whit Merrifield. For the second time in the inning, the bases were loaded.
Up at the plate now for the Royals was Jarrod Dyson, a player known for his legs but not necessarily his bat.
You could feel the air being sucked out of the stadium the moment he stepped into the batter box. The only thought going through my mind was, why couldn’t we pinch hit for him.
Manship stared Dyson down in the batter’s box, almost as to say this is it I am not messing around anymore.
The ball leaves his hand, and it’s a fastball. I can hear it whistling to the plate. At first glance, it looks a little inside, but it’s definitely a hittable pitch.
Dyson swings and connects with the pitch. The crack of the bat is defining under the night sky. As I follow the ball with my eyes it soars farther and farther back. I think to myself there is no way this ball is going to be a fair ball as it creeps closer to the foul pole.
The ball keeps sailing and sailing and it’s gone into the right-field corner.
Everybody erupts in screams and disbelief. In all the games I have seen at this stadium, this is the loudest I have ever heard it.
I can’t stop thinking to myself how did Dyson do that? An unlikely hero in the biggest of moments.
At that time and date, that was only Dyson’s seventh home run of his seven-year major league career. In 2016 with the Royals that was his only home run of the season.
Looking back on that play and moment, it was like something written out of a movie script. The unlikely hero helps the team win during a tough season.
Hollywood I am waiting for this movie, and you better best believe I will be first in line to see it.
Lorenzo Tugnoli reaction
A picture can tell a thousand words. This is particularly true of Lorenzo Tugnoli of the Washington Post and his work. (link)
Scrolling through his photos documenting the tragic famine in Yemen left me in both horror and astonishment. The raw human emotions that are depicted in the photos was something I haven’t experienced. Living in a country where things like famine and civil wars haven’t happened in over a hundred years, it’s hard to imagine what these people are going through.
His photos read almost like a good book. With each page or in this case photo pulling you in more than the last one.
The first photo I came across was a woman walking down a street in Jahmalyia, Yemen. At first glance what shocked me was the sheer destruction of the building on both sides. The piles of rubble told the entire story of the fighting that had and still is ensuing in this country. You can see a man in the distance on the right side of the photo looking at the destruction. I can’t even imagine the emotions he was feeling at the moment. The fear of the rebels taking over his town or knowing you have no place to go too?
Looking at all the photos, the ones that drew me in the most were pictures depicting people suffering from malnutrition. I like to think of myself as a very caring person and the state of the kids in the pictures broke my heart.
The one I came across first was a picture of a three-year-old child sitting outside his home in a cot. You can see the sheer panic in his brother and father. Not knowing or having anywhere to take you sick child would be the worst feeling ever. Looking at the state of the child, he is sprawled out fighting for his life. What amazes me about this picture is the kid is not crying. It might be due to the fact that he has been sick for so long that he is used to it, which is an even more disturbing thing to think about.
One picture that rocked me to my core was the picture of the little girl dying in the hospital bed in Aden. It shows you how the medical practices and skills in Yemen are nowhere what they are in the United States. Which is understandable due to the fact it’s a very war-torn country.
You can almost see the life being sucked out of the little girl in the photograph. Every breath that she takes is a huge struggle and could be her last. If I was in Tugnoli position, I would have a hard time taking this photograph. Out of respect for that little girl and her family, I would have a very hard time showing her in this state. On the other hand, pictures like these are good and can really open up people’s eyes to the suffering that is taking place all around the world.
Salute to the greatest
When it comes to NBA basketball in the 21st century, few players have been as transcendent to the game as Dwayne Wade and Dirk Nowitzki. I grew up as many 2000 kids did, idealizing these superstars. As both excited the game this past week it’s time to look back on these superstars’ careers.
Nowitzki entered the NBA back in 1998. He was drafted 9th overall by Milwaukee Bucks, but then was given to the Dallas Mavericks in a trade along with Steve Nash, in what is considered one of the worst draft day trades of all time. Nowitzki had a rough start to his NBA career. In his first season, he only started 24 games and averaged 8.3 points per game. Many questioned his talent and started to write him off. He quickly shut doubters up and improved exponentially in season 2, averaging 17.5 points per game. By 2002 he was an All-Star and never turned back, making the prestigious game 11 times in a row. In 2007 he won his one and only league MVP award.
Probably Nowitzki most memorable season was 2011. He led the Mavericks to third place in the Western Conference with a mark of 57-23. They walked through the first three series of the NBA playoffs with only three losses. In the finals though, they were matched up with the superstar loaded Miami Heat. Nowitzki not only outplayed Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh, but he led Dallas to one of the most improbable NBA titles ever. His production has gone down in recent years, but there still have been glimpses of the old Nowitzki. Most notably, he had a 30-point game in his final appearance in Dallas against the Phoenix Suns.
Dwayne Wade hasn’t been in the NBA near as long as Dirk but still has had an equally impressive career. It took no time for Wade to develop. Since his emergence from the famous 2003 draft, he has been nothing short of a spectacular. He could get to the hoop at will and emerged as one of the best dunking guards in the league.
When Miami bolstered their roster by adding Shaquille O’Neill in 2004-2005, Wade’s game elevated as well. In only his third year in the NBA, the Heat made their first NBA finals and won in seven games. In the series, Miami trailed 0-2 to the Dallas Maverick and was led back by impressive performances by Wade. He recorded the third highest point totals in finals history, with a grand total of 33.8 points per game. For his work, he was rewarded the 2006 finals MVP.
Throughout his career, Wade has been teamed up with several other superstars including Lebron James. After the 2006 title, he won two more titles with the Heat in 2012 and 2013. For his career, Wade has never averaged under ten points per game.
Both these players made an entire generation including myself, fall in the love with the sport of basketball. Besides the accolades, one thing that separates these soon to be first ballot hall of fame players is the class they carried themselves with. The light never got too bright for them and they were always able to keep their egos in check. The game won’t be the same without these two. Farewell, and you will surely be missed.
A Boy and His Dog
This past summer was one of the hardest times that I have had personally in quite some time. Emotionally I was at a point where I was drained with the work I was doing. Everything I did never seemed like it was good enough. Every day, I would go home defeated and frustrated. The only bright spot in my day was seeing my Golden Retriever Buster.
I can still remember the day like it was yesterday when we got that crazy golden-haired dog. It had been several months since our beloved Beagle Cubby had passed away and my parents decided it was time for a new dog. My mom had heard of a shelter in Hastings, NE that had dogs and decided on Buster to be our next family pet. My dad is the one who picked him up and he said, the dog couldn’t sit still and was jumping back and forth from the passenger seat onto his seat.
The second I laid eyes on him I instantly fell in love. He would run around in the backyard with me as I threw the football to myself. I was always the offensive player and he was the defender nipping at my heels. As he grew from a little puppy into a full-grown adult dog, he became nearly impossible to outrun.
Other than being my sports buddy, he was always there for me when I was feeling depressed or upset. Growing up, school and learning were very hard for me. Because I was a little slower, kids picked on me and it felt like my teachers never understood what I was going through. Frustrated, I found myself acting out and getting in trouble which in the long run only made things worse.
The only thing that could make the things I was going through better was my dog. I would sit there and pet him for hours. At times, it felt like he was the only one who truly understood me. Looking back, they were some of my most unhappy times, but some of the fondest memories I had of my dog.
Now flashback, to the summer of 2018. Buster isn’t the ball of energy he once was. At twelve years old, arthritis had riddled his joints. He was also too the point, where he was very confused as well. He would be pacing back and forth in the garage for hours on end. I remember going out there and laying with him, trying to get him to rest for just a little bit.
By mid-July, it had gotten to the point where Buster getting lost became a more frequent occurrence. At this point as well, he was panting harder than I had ever seen him pant before. We couldn’t keep torturing like this anymore and as a family decided to put him down. I was angry and totally against it at first, but the more I thought about it, I knew it was for the best.
I will never forget the experience of seeing him being put to sleep. One second, he was there staring into my eyes, and literally instantaneously once the drug was put into him he was gone. It was one of the saddest moments of my life.
Even though he is gone now, I will never forget everything Buster did for me. He lent me a shoulder to cry on when I was sad and lonely and ultimately helped me get past the problems of my past. For that, I am truly grateful and could never repay him enough.
David Carr media analyst
Funny side note, when I looked at the assignment for this week I thought this person who’s columns we were responding to was a completely different person. I was thinking of the David Carr who was drafted No.1 by the Houston Texans as a quarterback and ended up turning out to be a bust. Anyways, back to David Carr the writer for the New York Times. The media criticism that I looked at of his, was Twitter is all in good fun, until it isn’t. I really enjoyed what he had to say because he presents facts surrounding the issue and also gives his opinions on what happened.
Carr’s whole column centers around Roland Martin, who was suspended after a tweet he put out during the super bowl back in 2012. The tweet read, “If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham’s H&M underwear ad, smack the crap out of him! #superbowl.”
As many of you can imagine, in today’s day and age that tweet didn’t go over very well at all. Many took it as a slam against homosexual men, particularly that they need to be beaten.
Instead of going along with what others were saying about Martin, Carr did some research on the man being accused of homophobic speech. It turns out that Roland Marin wasn’t trying to offend any gay men with this tweet, he just doesn’t like soccer. It doesn’t change the fact that it was a very poorly worded tweet, but it does change your perspective on the man, at least it did for me.
Without good investigative reporting, we would have only gotten the side from the public who interpreted the tweet as they did. Like the old saying, there are always two sides to every story, and that definitely was the case in this scenario.
What I found fascinating about this column, is the insight Carr brings to it. He was someone who was a reporter representing a huge media outlet, who also frequently used twitter.
He points out being able two post and say whatever you want instantaneously is a positive of twitter, but also a negative as well. Especially for people in media professions. As he states, your bosses always want you posting and promoting your and their work on your social media, but also want you to do it in a consumer-friendly way for everyone. It’s the classic if you look bad, I will look bad too.
That’s something that I never really thought about. Many media professionals, I imagine sit and stew if they should or shouldn’t post something at one point or another. I can also see where it could be hard to control yourself, especially if you feel very heated about a topic.
When it comes to these situations I guess you just have to way your options. Is it worth posting something that could possibly offend a group of people and cost me my job or is it better just post nothing at all? I am sure Roland Martin is sitting there wishing he had done this.
Sports Column: Out with old and In with the new
A career that started with such glimmer and hope, ended March 26th when Coach Tim Miles was fired from his position as head basketball coach at the University of Nebraska. The writing was on the wall for well over a month about the uncertainty of Miles job security. In the end, he couldn’t figure out how to get the most out of talented teams during his time in Lincoln.
His firing has left me with mixed emotions. On the one hand, I loved his competitiveness and the class he carried himself with but on the other hand, he couldn’t duplicate success. He got a break in 2015 when the team faltered after making the NCAA Tournament in 2014. This year, there were high expectations after a successful 2018, but again the team underperformed. It’s a cycle that Miles just couldn’t seem to escape.
Now that Tim is on his merry way drinking his cold Coors Light, it’s time to look to the future and Fred Hoiberg. After what many would deem as an unsuccessful venture as the Chicago Bulls coach, he’s back to his roots in the college ranks. He served as the coach of his alma mater Iowa State from 2010 to 2015. In his five seasons with the team, the Cyclones made four straight trips to the NCAA tournament and got as far the Sweet Sixteen in 2014-2015.
The biggest question on the table with Hoiberg, is can he replicate what he did at Iowa State at Nebraska? In my opinion, he will eventually be able to. Look at John Calipari and Rick Pitino. Both are considered legendary coaches at the college level but were seemingly mediocre NBA coaches. They both were also successful in coaching college, going to the NBA, and then going back to the college game. Now I am not saying Hoiberg is at the level of Calipari or Pitino, because he is not due to sheer experience. What I am saying though, is this type of transition has worked for other coaches before and could very well work for Hoiberg.
The other thing to like about him is his experience in turning around failing programs. Let’s look back at the Iowa State before he took that job. The Cyclones were a laughable 59-68 under Greg McDermott and only beat one team in the top 25 in 4 years in Aims. When Hoiberg took over as the coach, it took him only one year to completely turn the team around. Good recruiting and getting the most out of the players he had to work with, turned the Cyclones into consistent winners once again.
This time Fred isn’t attempting to revitalize a program but is trying to make a program. Trying to make the Cornhuskers into contenders for Big Ten Conference regular season and tournament championships and NCAA tournament regulars, something that has never been done at Nebraska.
With no experience coming back, besides the exception of maybe Isaiah Roby if he doesn’t go pro, Hoiberg will have to completely overhaul the roster. A task that may take a couple of recruiting classes to accomplish.
The key for the administration and fan base is to be patient. They did a good job with Miles and I expect nothing but the same for Hoiberg. This is good news for him because fans are more willing to wait for consistency due to the school’s poor history in the sport, more so than in the football.Like Scott Frost with the football team, excitement and optimism are being brought to the Basketball program with this hiring. In Hoiberg we trust.
In Hoiberg we trust
Now that Tim Miles is on his merry way drinking his cold Coors Light, it’s time to look to the future and Fred Hoiberg. After what many would deem as a unsuccessful venture as the Chicago Bulls coach, he’s back to his roots in the college ranks. He served as the coach of his alma mater Iowa State form 2010 to 2015. In his five seasons with the team, the Cyclones made four straight trips to the NCAA tournament and got as far the Sweet Sixteen in 2014-2015.
The biggest question on the table with Hoiberg, is can he replicate what he did at Iowa State at Nebraska? In my opinion he will eventually be able to. Look at John Calipari and Rich Pitino. Both are considered legendary coaches at the college level, but were seemingly mediocre NBA coaches. They both were also successful in coaching college, going to the NBA, and then going back to the college gameday. Now I am not saying Hoiberg is a Calipari or Pitino, because he is not due to sheer experience. What I am saying though, is this type of transition has worked for other coaches before, and could very well work for Hoiberg.
The other thing to like about Hoiberg is his experience in turning around program. Let’s look back at the Iowa State program before he took that job. The Cyclones were a laughable 59-68 under Greg McDermott and only beat one team in the top 25 in 4 years in Aims. When Hoiberg took over as coach, it took him only one year to completely turn the team around. Good recruiting and getting the most out of the players he had to work with, turned the Cyclones into consistent winners once again.
This time Fred won’t attempt to revitalize a program, but in essence is trying to make a program. Trying to make the Cornhuskers into contenders for Big Ten Conference regular season and tournament championships and NCAA Tournament regulars, something that has never been done at Nebraska.
With no experience coming back, besides the exception of maybe Isaiah Roby if he doesn’t go pro, Hoiberg will have to completely overhaul the roster. Something that may take a couple of recruiting classes to accomplish. Like Scott Frost with the football team, excitement and optimism is being brought to Nebraska Basketball with this hiring.
EJ Dionne Jr.
Was their misconduct on the part of President Trump in election process or was the election just a classic changing of powers between the Republican and Democratic party in the United States? The case looked to be solved after the President was quitted of charges in March. That was until later, when the House Judiciary Committee voted to subpoena Robert Muller report.
This means there will be another looking at the case, and Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. couldn’t be happier. According to his column “Congress is right to subpoena the Mueller report. It shouldn’t have had to”, He states attorney general William Barr should have taken this report into consideration in the first investigation of President Trump’s supposed misconduct.
Even though I share completely different views on Trump then Dionne does, I agree with what he talks about in the column. This case should have been done and over with back in March and that’s a fact. What did Attorney General William Barr think was going to be the response from Democrats, when the biggest piece of their case for impeachment of Trump was left out. Of course, they were going to try and fire back and get a new trial, I would have done the same thing.
Let the Mueller Report be used in the upcoming investigation, and when Trump is found not guilty of the charges again the Democrats have nothing more to complain about. This just seemed like a very bonehead move on Barr’s part. All this did was make the Republican party look like they are trying to hide something, which is what the Democrats want.
One thing I noticed from Dionne writing, is that he definitely does his research on his columns. He found evidence of Barr saying, “The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired with Russia.” He notes that the Democrats still have hope with this case because Barr said they did not establish instead of did not find. He believes that they can establish a case with the Mueller reports.
If it does come out that Trump essentially cheated to become president, then he should be impeached. But when it comes back that he is innocent, Democrats need to lay off him and accept the fact he is their leader.
Sports Column Draft
A career that started with such glimmer and hope, ended Tuesday when Coach Tim Miles was fired from his position as head basketball at the University of Nebraska. The riding was on the wall for well over a month about the uncertainty of Miles job security. In the end, he couldn’t figure out how to get the most out of talented teams as the Cornhuskers coach
He’s firing has left me with mixed emotions. On the one hand, I loved his competitiveness and the class he carried himself with but on the other hand he couldn’t duplicate success. He got a break in 2015 when the team faltered after making the NCAA Tournament in 2014. This year, there were high expectations after a successful 2018, but again the team underperformed. It’s a cycle the Miles just couldn’t seem to escape.
Now that Tim Miles is officially gone, it’s time to turn attention to the potential hires. In my opinion, Nebraska needs to be patient and selective about who they are hiring next. I know many Nebraska fans don’t’ like to hear this, but it would probably be most beneficial in the end. Rather than rushing out and hiring the first big name, they should sit back and thoroughly examine which candidate is the bet fit for the job.
It looks like Nebraska may not be heeding my advice, as it looks like it may be all but announced on hiring Fred Hoiberg. There is no doubt he was a good coach at Iowa State, but that was five years ago. Also, he had a lot more talent in Ames, Iowa than he will have at Nebraska. He will have Isaiah Roby to build around if he decides not to go pro, which would be a positive.
Like with Scott Frost and the football team, Nebraska fans need to be in it for the long run. There will not be an instant turnaround with the Huskers, with potentially no starters returning. To make matter worse, arguably Nebraska’s best bench player from the season Thomas Allen is looking to transfer to a different school.
Whether the new coach is Fred Hoiberg, Thad Matta or any of the other coach whose name has been thrown in the job search, be patient Husker faithful because it looks like were in the rebuilding stages once again.
From the mound to your computor screen 