Entertainment Media Archives - Page 18 of 50 - Jonathan's Blog From The Source

Jeff Foxworthy, The Bible and Primetime

Posted on: 08/23/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Normally I wouldn’t think that the words Jeff Foxworthy, the Bible and Primetime would be used in the same sentence… but tonight, they will be.

Many of you have been hearing the buzz about the Game Show Network’s newest game show hosted by Jeff Foxworthy. It’s called The American Bible Challenge and it is set to premiere tonight, August 23, 8PM on the Game Show Network.

Our TheSource4YM.com movie guru Todd and I were lucky enough to get a sneak peek at the premiere episode and think many of you will want to give it a peek for yourselves on cable tonight.

Todd sat down with his family to watch the sneak peak this week and shared his thoughts Continue reading “Jeff Foxworthy, The Bible and Primetime”

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Deciding If Hunger Games Is Appropriate

Posted on: 08/20/12 5:00 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Are parents preparing their kids to make good media decisions… or just over-protecting them?

Last weekend I sat with a young couple who were trying to decide whether the box office smash Hunger Games, now on blu-ray and DVD, is appropriate for their middle school daughter.

The wife concluded, “The two of us are going to watch it first, then we’ll determine if it’s appropriate for her.”

I applaud their methodology. If you think that a movie is questionable, then screen it first. ask yourself the four questions I asked in my post, After Seeing Hunger Games: Continue reading “Deciding If Hunger Games Is Appropriate”

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A Peek at Today’s Music

Posted on: 08/18/12 10:17 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Have you looked at the music charts lately? Allow me to give you a quick glimpse.

This weekend I’m flying to Albuquerque, NM to teach my Parenting the Texting Generation workshop. During the beginning of those workshops I always give parents a peek into the world of youth culture. Headlines often use scare tactics and talk about the minority of teenagers, so I focus on what the majority of kids are actually doing, which risky behaviors are prevalent, and what media sources have the biggest impact on young people. Then I spend the rest of the workshop helping parents not overreact, but instead “interact” with their kids and build lasting values.

Since most of you don’t live in New Mexico and can’t attend this workshop, let me give you a quick tour of what’s happening on the music charts at the moment. (Some of you have seen the YouTube video from early 2012, my little “tour of today’s iTunes”. This fun little segment of the workshop changes every time… simply because the charts are always changing.)

A Glimpse at the Most Popular Songs Today

Can You Blow My Whistle Baby?
Yeah, that is the chorus to Flo Rida’s hit song Whistle, and it just hit #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100. It’s been #1 on iTunes for a while now, but recently Continue reading “A Peek at Today’s Music”

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I Love My ‘Fast Forward’ Button

Posted on: 08/1/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

I love my DVR. No better invention… ever! (Sorry Edison, the light bulb was cool, but it doesn’t have a fast forward button!) The Olympics are so fun to watch when you have a fast forward button at your fingertips.

Funny thing… most Americans don’t use this wonderful invention.

Don’t believe me; check it out for yourselves. Nielsen releases quarterly reports with this data. They must have some guy with glasses and pencil who figures all this out, because Nielsen’s most recent Cross Platform Report (free registration to access this report revealing American TV viewing averages from the last quarter of 2011) reveals that the average American watches 33 hours a week of traditional TV. That means just turning on a live TV and sitting through commercials.

That same Average American only watches Continue reading “I Love My ‘Fast Forward’ Button”

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Lust or Love?

Posted on: 07/30/12 5:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Love and lust are both frequented topics in today’s top music. The question most of us wonder is, “Do our kids know the difference?”

My good friend David R. Smith just posted an excellent Youth Culture Window article on the topic of love and lust in today’s top music. David dives into the lyrics of the top songs this week, reporting that 4 out of the top 10 fall in the “lust” category, and providing us with some helpful questions to ask teenagers about each of these songs.

But articles like this beg the question: are we just throwing stones here? At what point do we as parents and youth workers come across as whiney old people sitting on the porch ranting, “When I was your age…”

I guess that really depends how we discuss the subject matter with young people. Should we simply label these songs “bad”? Some of these songs are a mixed bag of nuts. For example, Continue reading “Lust or Love?”

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A “Gamer’s” Look at the “2012 Most Anticipated Video Game” List: DAY 2

Posted on: 07/27/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Earlier this week I posted DAY 1 of our “Gamer’s” perspective about Nielsen’s recently released list of the “2012 Most Anticipated Video Games.” Nielsen projected which console video game titles have the greatest consumer anticipation for 2012. Halo 4 topped their list for Xbox 360 gamers, with Call of Duty: Black Ops II right on the heels.

Seeing that we have a video game reviews page for parents on www.TheSource4Parents.com, I thought it would be good to let a few of my Game-gurus chime in with their two cents about this list. Yesterday we heard “Gamer” James Trevillian’s perspective about Nielsen’s projections, as well as what parents might expect from content.

Today our very passionate game reviewer Thaius Tydane shares his opinion about this list: Continue reading “A “Gamer’s” Look at the “2012 Most Anticipated Video Game” List: DAY 2”

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A “Gamer’s” Look at the “2012 Most Anticipated Video Game” List: DAY 1

Posted on: 07/25/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Last week Nielsen released a list of the “2012 Most Anticipated Video Games,” casting their vote as to which console video game titles have the greatest consumer anticipation for 2012. Halo 4 topped their list for Xbox 360 gamers, with Call of Duty: Black Ops II right on the heels.

Seeing that we have a video game reviews page for parents on www.TheSource4Parents.com, I thought it would be good to let a few of my Game-gurus chime in with their two cents about this list.

Today, Gamer James Trevillian shares his opinion about Nielsen’s list, as well as what parents might expect from content: Continue reading “A “Gamer’s” Look at the “2012 Most Anticipated Video Game” List: DAY 1″

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The Dark Knight Rises- Alec’s Take

Posted on: 07/20/12 4:11 PM | by Jonathan McKee

The following is a guest post from my 19-year-old son, Alec who has been eagerly awaiting the release of the third film in Christopher Nolan’s Batman series. Alec attended a midnight premier here in the Sacramento area and admittedly brings you his “biased” perspective. It was hours after this premier that we found out about the tragedy in Colorado. Our prayers go out to the victims and families of those involved in the Colorado shooting this morning.

Here’s Alec’s two cents on the film:

If you want an unbiased review, Im going to have to ask you to stop reading this, because I am hopelessly loyal to this movie and could speak no evil of it. So excuse the rest of my fanboy rantings that you are about to read if you dare venture further into this review.
-Sincerely,
Alec

The Dark Knight Rises

So I went to the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises this morning, and again I found myself geeking out at the sight of one of my childhood heroes gallivanting across the silver screen. This was a highly anticipated movie of the year for me, and the hush-hush nature of Chris Nolan’s secrecy while shooting this film only further contributed to the fervency of that anticipation. I think it is also safe for me to say that I was not the only one impatiently clawing at my seat waiting for the film to start, because the loud rabble of the packed theater was silenced in seconds when the lights dimmed and the movie began.

Continue reading “The Dark Knight Rises- Alec’s Take”

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Can You Blow My Whistle Baby?

Posted on: 07/9/12 3:30 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Little Wayne wanted girls to lick his lollipop, now Flo Rida wants girls to “blow his whistle.” I’m talking about the new song, Whistle. I was sitting with a parent last week who said that his kids were asking about downloading this popular Flo Rida song. The parent asked me, “Is it clean?”

Well, the song is definitely in the ears of kids today. It is currently #3 on iTunes, and this week it just moved from #58 to #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 (Billboard is always catching up to iTunes). It’s another catchy little diddy from the guy who brought us “Apple Bottom jeans, boots with the fur…” The rapper Flo Rida is slowly but steadily releasing hits.

Here’s the chorus of Whistle: Continue reading “Can You Blow My Whistle Baby?”

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The Messy Morality of Stripping

Posted on: 06/26/12 11:29 AM | by Jonathan McKee

He’s a stripper, but he’s a good stripper, so that’s okay. Actually, all these strippers are stripping for a cause. That’s good… right?

Pardon my alliteration, but teaching truth to today’s teenagers tends to be tricky! If young people are shaping their morality from the media… we’re all in big trouble. Let’s face it: the world’s standards aren’t good; but they aren’t all bad either. For a lack of a better term… they’re messy. And when young people soak in an average of 7.5 hours a day of entertainment media, that makes you wonder what kind of morality they’re developing.

Look at the messy morality surrounding the new movie Magic Mike coming out this Friday, June 29^th, a film loosely based on actor Channing Tatum’s former life as a 19-year-old stripper in Florida. The movie has been promoted heavily by MTV, the hub of youth culture. They’re promoting it with the following description: “A male stripper (Channing Tatum) takes a newcomer (Alex Pettyfer) under his wing and instructs him in the fine arts of partying, picking up women, and making plenty of money.”
Continue reading “The Messy Morality of Stripping”

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