Amelia Student Ministries - Amelia Church of Christ

Hey guys, if you look at the menu choices for this website, you will notice a brand new one in and amongst the ones you can always choose from. This new page is for those students going to the CIY Move Conference this year. On this page, you will be able to find the artists and speakers at this years conference, as well as important dates to remember and your all-important liability forms that you need to fill out and bring with you. Go visit it now and check out what’s there and don’t forget to keep checking it as we get closer to the actual trip!

A week ago I wrote a post entitled Top Ten Villains which you can check out by going here.

This week we’re tackling my top ten favorite fictional heroes of all time.

Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I would be absolutely nothing without him and, like Satan topping my all time bad-guy list, Jesus tops my Heroes list indefinitely. But what about the stars to grace the silver and small screens. What about those in novels or comic books? What about the gaming world. Everywhere we look, we are exposed to heroes of young and old. Heroes of myth and legend, and so, I have decided to comprise a list of my top ten favorites. As with the villains list, you may have your own favorites, and whether you agree or disagree, I don’t care because this is my blog, not yours!

With all that being said, we’re off:

First, I want to tackle a couple of mentionables. Ones that I thought were good, just not good enough to make this list. When I read Greek mythology growing up, I was always partial to Hercules, and so I will mention him as close to the top, yet not Top Ten material. The same is true with heores such as: Conan the Barbarian, William Wallace, Zorro, John Mclaine (Die Hard), Luke Skywalker, Doc Holliday, and Green Lantern. They are all good heroes, and they embody positive characteristics, but they’re just not good enough. So, without further ado, let’s dive in.

#10 – George Bailey – “It’s a Wonderful Life”

George Bailey is Frank Capra’s invention of a man who grew up in the middle of small town America in the 1920′s and 30′s. He was a man who wanted to ride off into the sunset and see the world, but his Father’s untimely death, coupled with the crash of the stock market, forced George to stay in Bedford Falls and keep his father’s business and dream alive for the poor in the town. Jimmy Stewart does a marvelous job capturing every single emotion possible known to humans and the heartfelt ending is one of the best I can remember ever seeing in a film. George Bailey is a great example of what a role-model should be and his emotional integrity earns him the number ten spot in my countdown.

#9 – Master Chief – “Halo”

In the 26th Century, Earth will come to wage a war against multiple allied alien races that call themselves “The Covenant.” To combat these alien races, geneticists create a super soldier, bred for combat and tactics. His Spartan-2 Mjolnir armor weighs over a thousand pounds and can withstand multiple gunshot and explosive device shrapnel. It allows him to breathe underwater and in outer space. It also allows him to jump over eight feet high and run at speeds of up to thirty miles an hour sustained. Let me introduce you to Master Chief. You take control of him as you wage war on the covenant in Bungie’s epic trilogy of Halo games for the XBOX and XBOX 360. Master Chief is the ultimate soldier and these games would not have been as much fun without this character as the lead. He comes in solidly at my number nine spot.

#8 – Jack Sparrow – “Pirates of the Caribbean”

Hero or Villain? I say Hero, even though he manages to cause more chaos than he solves. Jack Sparrow was always about serving himself and his own desires, but when I go to the movies and end up cheering for a character and rooting them on, I say they’re a hero, especially when they save someone else’s life quite a few times. Jack Sparrow is the quasi-captain of the Black Pearl, a pirate ship with black sails that can outrun any ship in the King’s navy. Jack ends up being shot at, turning undead, imprisoned, marooned on a desert-island, imprisoned again, eaten by a monster known as the Kraken, pursued by Davy Jones, afloat in a casket on the ocean, left in Davy Jones locker, and eventually captain of his ship again. His uproarious lines and quick witted humor, (minus the scene from At World’s End where he talks to himself, and himself, and himself), lands Jack the number 8 spot in my countdown.

#7 – Superman – “Superman”

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look, up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, It’s number seven on the list and it’s superman. The Man of Steel. He flies, he’s fast, bullets bounce off him, he’s got super breath, super strength, lasers from his eyes. This guy almost has it all. I wanted to be Superman when I was growing up. I remember having a pair of superman pajamas and I would run around in them all day long. I loved Superman. Oh and Christopher Reeve will always be the ONLY Superman ever. I couldn’t stand Brandon Routh as the new one. That guy was terrible.

#6 – James Bond – (Most Recently) “Casino Royale”

I know right now you’re humming that familiar theme song. The one that goes with the coolest secret agent ever. 007. The only man to ever be known by a number. James Bond 007 is a fictional character created in 1952 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in 12 novels and two collections.The character has also been used in the longest running and second most successful film franchise to date, starting in 1962 with Dr. No. There have been 21 films in the EON Productions series to date, with the 22nd, Quantum of Solace, due for release in November 2008.

#5 – Wolverine – “X-Men”

If you’re a villain and you know that this guy’s on your tail, you’re shaking in your boots. Wolverine is the baddest of the bad, (I mean like bad meaning good), heroes ever. A mutant, Wolverine possesses animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, and a healing factor that allows him to recover from virtually any wound. This healing ability enabled the supersoldier program Weapon X to bond the near indestructible metal alloy adamantium to his skeletal system. He is also a master of hand-to-hand combat and martial arts. Oh, and I forgot to mention the claws and the bad attitude. He clocks in at number 5.

#4 – Han Solo – “Star Wars”

“Laugh it up fuzzball.” Han Solo the captain of the Millennium Falcon in the three Star Wars films and marvelous portrayed by actor Harrison Ford. Solo is introduced in Star Wars: A New Hope as a roguish spice smuggler who, through a twist of fate, becomes involved in the Rebel Alliance against the evil Galactic Empire. Over the course of this film and its sequels, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Solo becomes a chief figure in the Alliance. Star Wars creator George Lucas describes him as “a loner who realizes the importance of being part of a group and helping for the common good.”

#3 – Indiana Jones – “Raiders of the Lost Ark”

If you thought that Han Solo looked a little like Indiana Jones, it’s because they were played by the same actor, Harrison Ford. Indiana Jones was first introduced in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, set in 1936. He is portrayed as an adventurous throwback to the 1930s film serial treasure hunters and pulp action heroes, with an alter ego of Doctor Jones, a respected archaeologist at Marshall College – a fictional university in Connecticut. I’m sure now you’ve ditched the James Bond theme song and you have the famous John Williams March running through your head. Oh and grab your whip and head out to your local theaters because the only hero you can see there right now that’s on this list is our number 3 hero.

#2 – Link – “The Legend of Zelda”

Ah! Hyrule. Kingdom of Magic and mystery. Kingdom of faeries, fountains, and forests. Kingdom of the Triforce. Kingdom that gets turned upside down about every five years in a time-line that makes no sense, with a princess that always gets captured and an enemy that seemingly will never die. Is that enough for you? Well it’s not enough for our number 2 hero, Link. Link is a young Hylian boy from our fictional land of Hyrule. His age varies depending on which game you’re playing; incarnations usually vary from pre-teen to the late teens. Link often journeys through the realm of Hyrule defeating evil forces and Hyrule’s nemesis, Ganon. To defeat Ganon, Link usually requires the mystical Master Sword and Light Arrows, obtained after many trials and battles gathering magical objects or using other items such as musical instruments and assorted weaponry. This is my favorite video game hero of all time. As a matter of fact, when I heard that they were making the new Zelda, Twilight Princess, I had to go and get a Gamecube just to see what it was like. If you have ever played video games and have never heard of this guy, you’ve been living under a rock.

So Who’s my number One hero?

It

Would

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#1 – Batman – “Batman”

If there was ever a hero that would strike fear into the hearts of heartless criminals, it would be this one. Batman is the ultimate hero because there is absolutely nothing special about him. Whatsoever. Batman has no special abilities like healing or flying. He has no superpowers or abilities. What Batman has is his brain and his never-ending cash-flow. As his alter-ego Bruce Wayne, he makes the money during the day which he turns around and uses to fight crime as Batman during the nights. Batman also has the most diverse rogues gallery around. Some of his villains are sick and twisted and if I had included any of them on the villains list, I would have had to include all of them because they are like a package deal. Batman is dark, he is fearful, and his is magnificent at the same time. The character of Bruce Wayne is a psychologist’s dream and the richness of the storylines that surround this character are phenomenal.

So, there you have it. Heroes and Villains. If you’re still hungry for more, you can go and compare the Heroes and Villains on the lists and try to see who would win the battle between both number 8′s or both number 5′s. Either way, I’m done with the top ten list for a little while, so I’ll see you Sunday!

Hey guys,
It’s that time of year to go to CIY again! If you are interested in going with us this year, we are going to Carbondale, IL July 14-19th, 2008, and your initial deposit of 75.00 is due to me A.S.A.P. If you cannot come up with that in the next week but you still want to go, please, PLEASE, let me know so we can at least get you registered for the conference. You do not want to miss out on this awesome week with all of us!

Alright, the gloves are off and my top ten villain list is ready to be unveiled.

Now, we all know that Satan is the ultimate bad guy, and that one day God is going to kick him where he belongs for the rest of eternity, so no worries. But in the world of fiction, just who is the baddest of the bad. I mean, come on, there’s a lot of bad guys to choose from, so how do you pick a list like this?

The answer is very simple. These are the villains ranked from ten to one on my scale of “I wouldn’t want to mess with them for anything.” You may agree with them, and you may not, but that’s why this is my blog and not yours! You can however feel free to leave your comments at the bottom with who you think should or should not have been on the list.

#10 – Shredder – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Shredder is a villainous ninjutsu master called Oroku Saki. He is the archenemy of the turtles who, at one point or another in every incarnation of the TMNT franchise, has been the main enemy of Splinter and the Turtles. He is also the leader of the Foot Clan. He wears armor which consists of blade-covered metal plaques on his shoulders, forearms, hands (sometimes just his left hand), and shins; he wears a purple, gray, blue, or red robe that variously appears to be simple fabric or a form of chainmail. And no, his armor is not just for opening cans.

#9 – Commodus – Gladiator
I remember hating this character as I watched the movie, after the movie, and when I told people about the movie. He was like a spoiled brat. That kid who would take his ball and go home, only his ball happened to be all of Rome. There was also that awkwardness with him and his sister. Sort of creepy if you ask me. His Most Villainous Moment: The sequence when Commodus kills Marcus Aurelius after he tells him that Maximus will be the leader of Rome, then proceeds to tell everyone that his father passed in his sleep, calls Maximus a traitor, and has his family killed. All takes place in the first half hour.

#8 – Ganon – The Legend of Zelda
One of two video game villains on this list, Ganon was originally a Gerudo leader who has become a dark demon emperor. Ganon’s motives and desires vary in specifics in each Legend of Zelda game, but most often include the domination of Hyrule and presumably the world beyond it. To this end he seeks the relic of the gods known as the Triforce, which can bestow great power upon its holder. Ganon’s influence over the Triforce varies, but he is consistently shown as being associated with the Triforce of Power and is often in possession of it, giving him great strength but not enough to fulfill his dark desires, leading him to hunt the remaining Triforce pieces. I much prefer him in his beast form as opposed to his human “Gannondorf” form.

#7 – Darkseid – Superman
Ah, I long for the days of stone faces and Omega Beams. Darkseid is the ruler of the planet Apokolips, a post he obtained after assassinating his mother. Darkseid’s first born son is Kalibak the Cruel, and his other sons are Orion and Grayven. His greatest ambition is to eliminate all free will from the universe and reshape it into his own image. Darkseid has tried on several other occasions to achieve dominance of the universe through many methods. He has a special interest in Earth, as he believes humans possess collectively within their minds most, if not all, fragments of the Anti-Life Equation. Darkseid intends to probe the minds of every human in order to piece together the Equation. Even Superman wants nothing to do with this monster. I’m convinced that Darkseid could hold his own against almost everyone on this list, but his attitude is tempered and thusly, I cannot place him at number one.

#6 – Agent Smith – The Matrix
One of the coolest villains we’ve had over the past few years. His no-nonsense attitude and penchant for the villainous monologue earn him the number six spot in my countdown. Smith’s aim in the Matrix was to bring everything to a crashing halt with himself at the controls. I absolutely loved how he would fix his suit during a fight scene. Don’t think he’s a great movie villain? Watch the movie again, and you’ll see how everyone is completely terrified of him. His Most Villainous Moment: When the agents have Morpheus captured, Smith gives his speech and says, “I can taste your stink and every time I do, I feel that I’ve somehow been infected by it.”

#5 – Hannibal Lechter – The Silence of the Lambs
Anthony Hopkins is one messed up guy. Creepy is not the word to describe this one. I’m not sure if there is even one word that sums up this character. Was what he said scary, or how he said it? You start to kind of like Hannibal because he’s helping Clarice solve the murders………….then you see him kill someone and you say, “Oh that’s why they have that mask on his face.” You don’t want to end up in a dark alley with this one. Trust me.

#4 – The Terminator – The Terminator
“I’LL BE BACK.” Those three words go down as one of the greatest lines in history because he came back alright. Two movies and a TV series later, the Terminator remains one of the modern monsters to wreak havoc at the box office. When this film came out, people lined up to see this movie, not for the hero, but for the bad guy. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s portrayal of the futuristic cyborg killing machine earned him a one way trip to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the number four spot on my villains list. He shows no emotion through the whole movie. He wasn’t even upset when he couldn’t get to his target. He just kept going and going like an evil Energizer Bunny. The Terminator is definition of a one-man wrecking crew. One of the most relentless bad guys we’ve ever had in cinema.

#3 – Sephiroth – Final Fantasy VII
The other of the two video game villains to grace this list, Sephiroth may be the baddest video game villain ever. When you can coldly murder one of the most beloved characters of a role-playing franchise because she stands in the way of your destroying a planet and becoming the pinnacle, you’ve ascended to the top ranks of villainy. Sephiroth‘s psychotic fixation on being the sole survivor of an ancient race and meting out its vengeance made many a Final Fantasy player infuriated and eager to get into a fight with this lunatic. The cutscenes that involve him in this game are amazing and leave you with a sense of a cold unfeeling nightmare. Sephiroth is evil. Pure evil.

#2 – Maleficent – Sleeping Beauty
What ?????? A Disney Villain? At number 2 ?????? YES! ABSOLUTELY! Maleficent embodies evil. Everything about her is wicked, right down to the core. The reason she is so evil is that she hates love. Love is her enemy and thusly, she is pure evil. Oh and did I mention that she cursed a helpless baby, kept a prince locked away in her dungeons, destroyed every henchman she had because she was hacked off, created a hedge of thorns around an entire castle, and turned into a monstrous fire-breathing dragon? Yeah, she’s evil to the bone. Even her voice is cold and her cackling laugh gave me nightmares as a child. Do not mess with this one. She could end the life of every other Disney Villain around without breaking a sweat. And that includes Jafar.

SO WHO’S THE NUMBER ONE BAD GUY?

IT

WOULD

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#1 – Darth Vader – Star Wars
As if there’s anyone else that could hold the number one spot in this list! Vader is the most memorable villain in film history, and is among the best characterized. Emerging in the first film as evil personified, he becomes more complex as the series progresses, up until his final reversal at the end of Return of the Jedi, which was the redemption of his character. Darth Vader was the source of many nightmares for me when I was young, and he is still the most distinctive bad guy I have ever encountered in a dark theater. The Dark Lord of the Sith was once Anakin Skywalker, but his lust for power and vengence forced him to walk a dark path that landed him inside of a mechanical suit that is nothing more than a glorified respirator. He commands the Dark Side of the force and personifies evil.

Well, I hope you enjoyed traveling through this list with me. Watch for next week as I unveil my top ten heroes of all time. You might be surprised at a few of them! Feel free to comment on who I left out of the list or who you think I should have left out of the list!

I knew that they existed, having studied Music at San Diego State University, yet I still watched with an open mouth of awe at this monstrosity, the contrabass saxophone. Apparently, there are only about 25 in existence. maybe that’s because the contrabass is quite large (about 6 foot 4 inches) and heavy (45 lbs).

Here’s Marcel W. Helland playing a few bits on his deeply honkerifous (I’m not sure that’s a word) contrabass sax: