A Fresh Start to My Blog

Hey, guys! Been a while since I posted here, huh? Sorry to leave you hanging for so long!

Now, there’s gonna be some changes to this blog. First of all, I deleted some of my old blog posts. I’ll still keep up a few old ones, but I’m gonna keep this blog mainly focused on reviews, talking about media, and talking about finding Christian and Biblical messages in media! I’ll also make posts analyzing characters, books, episodes of TV shows, and maybe even some songs! I may make a few posts that aren’t those things, but they’ll be far and few in between.

Secondly, I know there was a certain controversial blog post I made here that I used to be proud of, but I’m not so proud of anymore. Honestly, I made that when I was increasingly frustrated with the world, and it being, well, 2020 didn’t help matters. I still stand by the Biblical stance on LGBT, but the way I worded that blog post could get pretty needlessly harsh and even rude, and I’m sorry. I deleted it a while ago, actually.

Lastly, this is also where I’ll post my more in-depth movie reviews, while my ratings and my shorter, sometimes more jokey reviews will be up on my Letterboxd account. Here, I’ll go more in depth about my criticisms of and praise for certain movies! I’ll go more in depth when it comes to analyzing the stories, animation (if it’s an animated movie), characters, themes, lessons, and any Biblical themes it may have.

That said, I hope you’ll enjoy the new content coming sooner or later!

Favorite songs from some bands and artists I like!

My top ten favorite For King and Country songs
1. God Only Knows
2. The Proof of Your Love
3. Priceless
4. Joy.
5. Fix My Eyes
6. It's Not Over Yet
7. O Come O Come Emmanuel
8. O God Forgive Us
9. Little Drummer Boy
10. Crave
Honorable mention: Burn the Ships
My top five favorite Adele songs:
1. Someone Like You
2. Rolling in the Deep
3. Set Fire to the Rain
4. Hello
5. Rumor Has It
Honorable mentions: Skyfall, Water Under the Bridge, Send my Love (to Your New Lover), When we Were Young

My top ten favorite Newsboys songs:
1. God's Not Dead
2. Born Again
3. He Reigns
4. We Believe
5. In the Belly of the Whale (from Jonah: a VeggieTales movie)
6. The Breakfast Song
7. Restart
8. That's How you Change the World
9. Shine
10. Woohoo
Honorable mention: League of Incredible Vegetables theme song (from VeggieTales "The League of Incredible Vegetables")

My top ten favorite Weird Al songs:
1. White and Nerdy
2. Word Crimes
3. Fat
4. Foil
5. Amish Paradise
6. It's my World and we're all Living in it (Milo Murphy's Law theme song)
7. Eat it
8. Polka Face
9. Albuquerque
10. Tacky
Honorable mentions: Handy, Canadian Idiot, Inactive, I Can't Watch This, The Brady Bunch, Couch Potato, A Complicated Song, Party in the CIA

My top ten favorite Skillet songs:
1. Awake and Alive
2. Hero
3. Battle Cry
4. Monster
5. Yours to Hold
6. Forgiven
7. The Last Night
8. Comatose
9. Stars
10. Lions
Honorable mentions: Don't Wake Me, Lucy, Rebirthing, Feel Invincible, The Resistance, Sick of It, It's Not Me It's You, Never Surrender, Falling Inside the Black, The Madness in Me, Whispers in the Dark

My top ten favorite Ed Sheeran songs:
1. Perfect
2. Thinking Out Loud
3. Castle on the Hill
4. Photograph
5. Galway Girl
6. Shape of You
7. Supermarket Flowers
8. Don't
9. I Don't Care
10. I See Fire
Honorable mention: Nancy Mulligan

My top ten favorite Twenty Øne Piløts songs: the
1. Stressed Out
2. Heathens
3. Goner
4. Migraine
5. Ride
6. Car Radio
7. The Judge
8. Lane Boy
9. House of Gold
10. Heavydirtysoul
Honorable mentions: Fairly Local, Chlorine, Can't Help Falling in Love (cover), Cancer (cover)

Top ten favorite Imagine Dragons songs:
1. Radioactive
2. Believer
3. Whatever it Takes
4. It's Time
5. Bad Liar
6. Thunder
7. I Bet My Life
8. Demons
9. Natural
10. Friction

My top ten favorite Fall Out Boy songs:
1. Centuries
2. Irresistible
3. My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light 'em Up)
4. Fourth of July
5. Thnks fr th mmrs
6. Jet Pack Blues
7. The Kids Aren't Alright
8. Immortals
9. Uma Thurman
10. Sugar We're Going Down

My top ten favorite TobyMac songs:
1. Get Back Up
2. Made to Love
3. Speak Life
4. I Just Need U
5. Me Without You
6. Scars (Come with Livin')
7. City on Our Knees
8. Lights Shine Bright
9. Love Broke Thru
10. This is Not a Test
Honorable mentions: Backseat Driver, Showstopper, Till the Day I Die, Lose Myself

My top ten favorite Owl City songs:
1. Fireflies
2. When Can I See You Again? (from Wreck It Ralph)
3. You're Not Alone
4. My Everything
5. Good Time
6. Gold
7. To the Sky
8. Unbelievable
9. Light of Christmas (featuring TobyMac) (from VeggieTales "Merry Larry and the True Light of Christmas)
10. Not All Heroes Wear Capes
Honorable mention: Shooting Star

My top ten favorite Maroon 5 songs:
1. She Will Be Loved
2. Moves Like Jagger
3. Sugar
4. What Lovers do
5. Memories
6. Don't Wanna Know
7. One More Night
8. This Love
9. Animals
10. Girls Like You

My top ten favorite Katy Perry songs:
1. Firework
2. Hot n Cold
3. Thinking of You
4. The One That Got Away
5. Wide Awake
6. Teenage Dream
7. Roar
8. Dark Horse
9. Last Friday Night
10. California Girls
Honorable mentions: Never Really Over, Not Like the Movies, Part of Me, ET, Chained to the Rhythm, Birthday, Waking up in Vegas

My top five favorite Tom Petty songs:
1. Free Fallin'
2. I Won't Back Down
3. The Waiting
4. It's Good to be King
5. Mary Jane's Last Dance
Honorable mentions: Runnin' Down a Dream, American Girl, Change of Heart

My top five favorite Melanie Martinez songs:
1. Dollhouse
2. Carousel
3. Soap
4. Pity Party
5. Cry Baby
Honorable mentions, Cake, Tag You're it

My top ten favorite Green Day songs:
1. Boulevard of Broken Dreams
2. Wake me up When September Ends
3. Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
4. American Idiot
5. 21 Guns
6. Holiday
7. Basket Case
8. Brain Stew
9. When I Come Around
10. Know Your Enemy

My top ten favorite Johnny Cash songs:
1. Hurt
2. Ring of Fire
3. Ghost Riders in the Sky
4. Man in Black
5. I Hung my Head
6. God's Gonna Cut You Down
7. Daddy Sang Bass
8. Folsom Prison Blues
9. I Won't Back Down
10. I've Been Everywhere
Honorable mentions: A Boy Named Sue, I Saw the Light, You Are my Sunshine, The Ballad of Ira Hayes, Sunday Morning Coming Down, One Piece at a Time

My top five favorite Kelly Clarkson songs:
1. My Life Would Suck Without You
2. Because of You
3. Since You've Been Gone
4.  If I Can't Have You
5. Behind these Hazel Eyes
Honorable mentions: Breakaway, Miss Independent, Piece By Piece

My top ten favorite Avril Lavigne songs:
1. Complicated
2. When You're Gone
3. Slipped Away
4. What the Hell
5. Wish You Were Here
6. Sk8ter Boi
7. Here's to Never Growing Up
8. Nobody's Home
9. Head Above Water
10. How You Remind Me
Honorable mention: My Happy Ending

My top ten favorite Taylor Swift songs:
1. You Belong with Me
2. Delicate
3. Love Story
4. Blank Space
5. Mean
6. Tim McGraw
7. Teardrops on my Guitar
8. 22
9. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
10. Shake it Off
Honorable mentions: Wildest Dreams, I Knew You Were Trouble, Bad Blood, Welcome to New York, Me, Look What You Made Me Do, Endgame, Haunted, Today was a Fairytale, Mine, Picture to Burn, Our Song, Style

My top ten favorite Beach Boys songs:
1. Kokomo
2. Good Vibrations
3. I Get Around
4. Barbara Ann
5. Surfin' USA
6. Wouldn't it be Nice
7. God Only Knows
8. Forever
9. Be True to Your School
10. Look (Song for Children)
Honorable mention: Cuddle Up

My top five favorite Linkin Park songs:
1. One More Light
2. Numb
3. In the End
4. Crawling
5. Somewhere I Belong
Honorable mention: What I've Done

My top ten favorite Queen songs:
1. We Will Rock You
2. We Are the Champions
3. Somebody to Love
4. Bohemian Rhapsody
5. Don't Stop Me Now
6. Under Pressure
7. Another One Bites the Dust
8. Fat Bottomed Girls
9. The Show Must Go On
10. Killer Queen
Honorable mention: These are the Days of Our Lives

My top five favorite Switchfoot songs:
1. Dare You to Move
2. Only Hope
3. Live it Well
4. Your Love is a Song
5. This is Home
Honorable mentions: I Won't Let You Go, Let it Happen, Meant to Live

My top ten favorite Michael Jackson songs:
1. Beat it
2. Thriller
3. Man in the Mirror
4. Smooth Criminal
5. Billie Jean
6. Bad
7. Black or White
8. The Way You Make Me Feel
9. Ben
10. Will You Be There
Honorable mentions: Childhood, I Want You Back (Jackson 5), ABC (Jackson 5), You Are Not Alone, Gone too Soon, Leave me Alone, Santa Claus is Coming to Town (Jackson 5), I Will Be There (Jackson 5), I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (Jackson 5), Don't Stop Until You Get Enough, She's Out of My Life

My top ten favorite Bruno Mars songs:
1. Uptown Funk
2. Grenade
3. Talking to the Moon
4. When I was Your Man
5. 24k Magic
6. That's What I Like
7. Treasure
8. It Will Rain
9. Locked Out of Heaven
10. The Lazy Song

My top five favorite Shawn Mendes songs:
1. In my Blood
2. Stitches
3. There's Nothing Holding me Back
4. If I Can't Have You
5. Señorita (featuring Camila Cabello)

My top five favorite Nickelback songs:
1. How You Remind Me
2. Far Away
3. Rockstar
4. If Everyone Cared
5. Lullaby

My top ten favorite Beatles songs:
1. Hey Jude
2. Let it Be
3. Yellow Submarine
4. When I'm 64
5. Octopus's Garden
6. Here Comes the Sun
7. Across the World
8. Blackbird
9. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
10. Golden Slumbers

My top ten favorite Simon and Garfunkel songs:
1. Sound of Silence
2. The Sun is Burning
3. Last Night I had the Strangest Dream
4. He Was my Brother
5. Bleecker Street
6. Go Tell it on the Mountain
7. The Times They are a-Changin'
8. Benedictus
9. Mrs. Robinson
10. Peggy-O
Honorable mentions: You Can tell the World, Sparrow, Wednesday Morning 3am

My top five favorite MercyMe songs:
1. I Can Only Imagine
2. Even If
3. Flawless
4. Greater
5. Word of God Speak

My top five favorite David Crowder songs:
1. Lift Your Head Weary Sinner
2. How He Loves
3. Church Music- Dance(!)
4. Run Devil, Run
5. Red Letters

My top ten favorite Elton John songs:
1. Crocodile Rock
2. I'm Still Standing
3. Don't Go Breaking my Heart
4. I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues
5. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
6. Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word
7. Bennie and the Jets
8. Rocket Man
9. Love Builds a Garden (from Gnomeo and Juliet)
10. Can You Feel the Love Tonight (from The Lion King)
Honorable mentions: Circle of Life (from The Lion King), Hello Hello (ft. Lady Gaga, from Gnomeo and Juliet)

My top ten Lady Gaga songs:
1. Bad Romance
2. Poker Face
3. Paparazzi
4. Shallow (ft. Bradley Cooper)
5. Just Dance
6. Applause
7. LoveGame
8. Perfect Illusion
9. Million Reasons
10. Born this Way

My top ten favorite P!nk songs:
1. So What
2. Perfect
3. Who Knew
4. Get this Party Started
5. Raise Your Glass
6. A Million Dreams
7. Walk me Home
8. What About Us
9. Just Like Fire
10. Just Give me a Reason
Honorable mentions: Please Don't Leave me, Blow Me (One Last Kiss)

My top five favorite B52s songs:
1. Rock Lobster
2. Love Shack
3. Funplex
4. Channel Z
5. Flintstones theme song (from The Flintsones live action movie)

My top five favorite Matthew West songs:
1. Do Something
2. Mended
3. Hello, My Name is
4. The Motions
5. Give This Christmas Away (ft. Amy Grant, from VeggieTales "Saint Nicholas: a Story of Joyful Giving)
Honorable mentions: Grace Wins, Day One

My top ten favorite Eminem songs:
1. Lose Yourself
2. Love the Way You Lie
3. Headlights
4. Stan
5. Mockingbird
6. Beautiful
7. Like Toy Soldiers
8. Without Me
9. The Real Slim Shady
10. My Name is
Honorable mentions: Spacebound, Just Lose it, Cleaning Out my Closet, River

In defense of redemption arcs

I know that quite a few people are sick of seeing villains getting redeemed a lot in recent times, but I don't mind it. It IS getting a bit more common, and I do agree that not every villain needs a redemption, and sometimes redemptions can be rushed, but honestly? The villain redemption is one of my favorite tropes! And here's why!
1. It can be more interesting to see a character who used to be evil getting used to being good and fitting in with the rest of society. And in the case of reformed Discord from MLP, it can also introduce children to the concept of a morally grey character.
2. It teaches children that people can change and grow from who they used to be, if they have genuine remorse and they're willing to change.
3. It teaches children that there are no one dimensional bad guys in real life. Everyone has a reason for being the way they are, no matter how frivolous, petty, or misinformed their reasoning is.
4. "Oh, but redeeming villains is getting BORING! It's SOOO cliched!!" So is killing the villain! Killing the villain is one of the OLDEST story beats in the book! I get that villain redemptions have become more common, but you're not special by killing your villains.
5. I'm a Christian! And as a Christian, I believe that NOBODY is truly beyond saving until they die. No matter what you've done, you CAN get a chance to be redeemed, to confess your sins, and to come to Christ. But you've got to want it. In order to change, you have to want to change, and you have to be willing to make the effort by doing whatever that you need to do to make that change.

Sweetest Mr. Krabs/Dad Krabs moments (proof that Mr. Krabs has a heart and isn't always the amoral, stingy, greedy dirtbag that people make him out to be):

. At the ends of "F.U.N" and "Squeaky Boots", he gave SpongeBob nice little pep talks.

. In "Culture Shock", he becomes interested in the talent show when Squidward mentions he can make Pearl a star, and he cheers her on during her performance.

. At the end of "F.U.N", he offers they both get Krabby patties on the house!

. In the beginning of "The Chaperone", he tries to comfort Pearl when she's crying, and offer her a chaperone/date for Prom.

. He tried to comfort SpongeBob when he cried in "Squeaky Boots". In the same episode, he also does a song and dance for Pearl's birthday, and gets her the boots she ACTUALLY wanted at the very end.

. In "Pickles", he lets SpongeBob go home to sort his mind, and the next day or so, he comes over to his house to help him.

. In "Suds", he was actually concerned for SpongeBob's health (as well as the customers) so he walked SpongeBob to the door, held it open for him and told him to go home and get some rest, adding the fact that he doesn't want him sneezing all over the food.

. In "Hooky", he tries to keep SpongeBob and Patrick away from the hooks. He even cries when he thinks that they've been caught by the hooks, and says "if I could only hold them in me arms again."

. In "Bossy Boots", he doesn't want to fire Pearl out of fear of breaking her heart.

. In "Patty Hype", he goes over to see how SpongeBob is doing, and he sheds a tear at the prospect that he's doing well, and has possibly forgotten about the Krusty Krab. (SB hasn't, of course.)

. In "Krusty Love", he's willing to spend money on Mrs. Puff. (though he flip flops between wanting to impress Mrs. Puff and getting upset about his money, which is hilarious to watch.)

. In "Dying for Pie", when he thinks that SpongeBob will die from ingesting a pie bomb, he cries as he puts the Help Wanted sign up.

. He does genuinely regret the choice he made in "Welcome to the Chum Bucket", and when SpongeBob starts crying, Mr. Krabs can't help but cry WITH him.

. In "My Pretty Seahorse", when SpongeBob tells him how close he is to Mystery, Mr. Krabs tells SpongeBob a story of a dollar from when he was younger and basically tells him that friends grow apart and we must let them go.

. In "Clams", he takes SpongeBob and Squidward on a boating trip.

. In "Krabby Land", the part where SpongeBob was sitting on Mr. K's lap while Krabs tells him about summer vacation, and the part where he picks up a kid playfully.
Even if Mr. Krabs himself was a jerk in this episode, I thought those scenes in particular were really cute.

. In "Born Again Krabs", the time when he was being generous, even if it WAS short lived.

. In "SpongeBob Meets the Strangler", he agrees to protect SpongeBob (until realizing it was the Tattletale Strangler).

. In the first movie, he does feel bad for SpongeBob when he didn't get the promotion. Also, he hugged SpongeBob around the end, and apologized for not giving him the role of Manager of the KK2, and then he does it!

. He and Plankton can occasionally get along, such as in "Best Frenemies" and "New Leaf".

. In "The Lost Mattress", he apologizes to SpongeBob after he snapped at him and called him an idiot when he hurt his back.

. In a flashback in "Friend or Foe", he stands up for Plankton when the other kids make fun of him. It's also really nice and sweet to see their friendship before they became rivals.

. A small one, but in "Stanley S. SquarePants", he calls SpongeBob his "Little money maker", picks him up and kisses him.

. In "Shell Shocked", Mr. Krabs comforts SpongeBob and offers to help him find a shell for Gary. He ends up giving Gary his shell. SpongeBob returns the favor by giving Mr. Krabs a towel or something to keep warm.

. In "Kracked Krabs", he invites SpongeBob to come with him to the Cheapskate Convention, and it does seem like he wants to tell SpongeBob about his ways and introduce him to some of his friends. He also ALMOST lets SpongeBob call him "daddykins".

. In "Patrick's Staycation", he lets SpongeBob sleep in his hammock. He also wakes SpongeBob up to check if he had a nightmare.

. In "Mr. Krabs Takes a Vacation", he invites SpongeBob to go with him and Pearl on a family vacation.

. In "Company Picnic", he takes SpongeBob and Squidward on a, well, company picnic. He and SpongeBob also high-five each other, which is adorable.

. In "Tutor Sauce" he attempts to teach SpongeBob how to drive. He also gives Pearl some money!

. In "Married to Money", he acts selfless and very much like he did for Mrs. Puff in "Krusty Love", he actually cares about someone else more than money, even though it was revealed to be all a ruse by Plankton.

. In "Whirly Brains", he is seen dating Mrs. Puff.

. Another small one, but at the end of "SpongeBob's Place", he added in small letters, 'and SpongeBob's Place' on the Krusty Krab sign. 

. In "Krusty Katering", he accidentally "adopts" a 

demon child. But seriously, when Billy has a bunch of fireworks, Mr. Krabs tells him that those are dangerous, and Billy remarks that nobody's ever told him that. He proclaims that Mr. Krabs is like his real father and hugs him.

. In "Cave Dwelling Sponge", when SpongeBob is framed for vandalism, Mr. Krabs is pretty much the only one who believes SpongeBob is innocent and tries to help clear his name.

. In "Larry the Floor Manager", very much like in "The Lost Mattress", he immediately comforts and apologizes to SpongeBob after snapping at him. 

. In "Shopping List", after SpongeBob loses the ingredients, Mr. Krabs calms him down and tells him that he got the real ingredients and the list he gave was just a red herring. It's not the BEST Dad Krabs moment, but it was kinda nice of him to calm down SpongeBob.

. In "Call the Cops", Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob share a hug.

. In "Plankton Paranoia", Mr. Krabs apologizes to SpongeBob for doubting him and once again, they share a hug.

. In "Pat the Horse", he's friendly and affectionate with a group of kids.

. In "Bubbletown", when he hears that SpongeBob is in Bubbletown prison, he goes there to rescue him. 

. In "Broken Alarm", Mr. Krabs offers to change the schedule for the Krusty Krab so SpongeBob can make it on time.

(To be continued)