Sunrise

I really wanted to blog about my favorite film ever. I think everyone should see it. I love it.
I was introduced to this film in a roundabout kind of way. For one of my senior seminars in Humanities I selected a class entitled "Film as Art" I thought we'd watch all kinds of independent films, maybe some crazy ones with wierd colors or obsessive ideas I don't know. It just sounded easier than the "Europe in the 14th Century" seminar I had just completed.
However, when the first day roled around and the professor handed out the syllabus the words "European Silent Cinema" caught my eye. But I stuck around, as pessimistic as I felt. We watched all kinds of films. Some were amazing (Metropolis, The Great Train Robbery, The Outlaw and his Wife etc.), some were not my favorites, so much so that I don't even know what they were called, and maybe because I slept through them. But my three favorites were later films, more story-lined and relatable. They are as follows: Sunrise, Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
Sunrise is by far the most beautiful, and most touching film, I totally love it. The music is beautiful, and you get so caught up in the story, you don't even realize that you have to read the title plates. It doesn't need them at all, however. It is easy enough to get caught up in the story and know what is happening without them. Here is a small clip. If you want to watch it, I own it and am more than happy to share. Because I just checked, and you can no longer get it at Kino. But you can also rent it from the Orem Public Library. I also encourage everyone to check out Metropolis. Pieces of the film were found in a Janitors closet of an asylum after World War II. Crazy. Enjoy!

My Strengths

At work, we are trying to build strength based teams. Where we create our leadership teams based on strength partnering rather than weaknesses. Meaning, we find people who's strengths have what we need to work with rather than focusing on trying to improve their opportunities. This comes from the Strengths Finder system. So, yesterday, I did the strength finder online only to learn mostly what I already know. At least, however, now I think of them differently.

My five top strengths were:

Learner: I love to learn, more than whatever the result is, I love the process. No surpise, by the second week of summer break I was always ready to go back and wish I was still in school.

Achiever: I like competition, and I like to win. I have a constant need for achieving goals. It's quite irritating. I wish I could be happy we won a contest, instead of wondering when the next one will start, or be okay with second place. It's all or nothing. How annoying.

Intellection: I like the mental activity of thinking. Not that I'm thinking particularly great or wonderful thoughts, but that I enjoy reflecting on things and possibilities.

Activator: I like to start things. Lots of things. Once I make a decision, I like to act on it. Now. But I am not particular about seeing all things to completion, unless it's a contest.

Input: I like to add information to my collection of knowledge, however I can, and experience new things that add to my knowledge of the way things are.

Those are my strengths. I was curious about this after my boss spoke of it on a conference call, so I bought myself a copy before he gave me one. Sarah is going to take it, so I am curious to see what her strengths are. It's very interesting. If anyone is interested, I think the book is only about 14.95, and it's fun to see what strengths are hidden in your personality, and that they can be considered strengths instead of areas of opportunity. I love it.