by Hunter Patterson | Aug 22, 2011 | News Slider, Opinion
Hello faculty, friends and fellow students of Lipscomb University. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Hunter Patterson, Lumination’s editor in chief. My staff and I are looking forward to a great year. Being at such a fine institution, we journalists have a lot of exciting stories to tell and events to chronicle. Whether it’s about one of our NCAA sports teams, professors publishing books or writing about one of our countless students who are impacting the world, we consider ourselves grateful. Like many of you, I am excited that school has started back. Also, I am excited that my peers have accepted me as editor of this news site that is truly for students and by students. It is our goal to make Lumination the place to visit when you want to know something about campus. Soon, we will have a calendar of events that you will be able to reference to know the dates of anything and everything that is happening on campus. We have also partnered with Lipscomb In Motion and the athletics department to keep you, the students, in the know. You know, informing you about the important stuff; chapel credits, t-shirts and most importantly, free food. I’d also like to thank you for visiting the site. I know that I speak for not only myself, but for the rest of my staff as well, when I say we all really appreciate it. I’d like you to invite you to follow us on Twitter, too: @luminationnet Here’s to a good year! You’ll be hearing from us quite often. ...
by despotmj | Aug 2, 2011 | News Slider, Opinion, Sports
Are you ready for some football? If not, get ready, because the NFL has rocketed back from the lull that was the NFL lockout. Just like the 80s movie, Spinal Tap, the NFL has turned it up to 11 and will not be looking in the rear-view mirror anytime soon. In fact, last week set a record for the most NFL transactions (players cut/signed/traded) ever recorded in one week, and the Tennessee Titans certainly accounted for many, posting 51. For the last several years, the Tennessee Titans’ front office has been beleaguered by claims that they act too slow and are inefficient when it comes to off-season activity. Fortunately, General Manager Mike Reinfeldt and his staff rose to the occasion and brought in several additions to offense and defense, all while doing a little housekeeping in the process. The week began with the Titans signing Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to a three-year, $21 million offer. This will provide the Titans with a veteran quarterback ready to play immediately, leaving rookie Jake Locker a chance to refine his game for the foreseeable future. Following the signing of Hasselbeck, the Titans cut two players who have been staples of the franchise for the last several years. Vince Young, the troubled but talented third-overall choice from the 2006 NFL Draft, was cut after alienating himself from the team and front office. Defensive Tackle Tony Brown, who signed a three-year contract last offseason, was cut after being placed on injured reserve last season. Following the cuts were a slew of signings that included inking the entire Titans’ draft class to four-year contracts, as well as the...
by despotmj | Jul 25, 2011 | Opinion, Sports
Time to buckle your chinstraps NFL fans, after 132 days the NFL lockout is officially over. The NFL Players Executive Committee voted this morning unanimously to accept the proposal previously voted on last Thursday by NFL owners, beginning what will be the greatest flood of player transactions and club business in sport’s history. Imagine this, it is the night before you have five finals the next morning, and you have not been able to study the entire semester. For NFL teams, it’s cram time. Over the next two weeks, NFL general managers must do five months of NFL business including: signing rookies, signing undrafted free agents, signing restricted free agents, trading players and cutting players. As part of the new 10-year deal, free-agency begins tomorrow (Tuesday), teams will begin reporting to training camp Wednesday, and the regular season will begin as scheduled Aug. 11. For the Tennessee Titans, this means making some very quick decisions, that could easily determine whether this team is playoff bound or on track for another sub .500 season. Over the next several days, the Titans must make some difficult decisions on several key players. Here they are: Vince Young– The Titans have until 4:00 p.m. ET July 29 to decide whether to cut or trade the troubled Titans’ quarterback. If not, the Titans will owe him a $4.5 million bonus they have already said they will not pay. Stephen Tulloch/Jason Babin– Both players are unrestricted free agents, and the Titans will have roughly 24 hours from today to decide whether the Titans should retain these players or allow them to hit the open-market where...
by Hunter Patterson | Jun 30, 2011 | News Slider, Opinion
Rebounding off the wretched creation that was Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, Transformers 3: Dark Side of the Moon proves to be an giant upgrade. Sure, it is darker and more serious than the second film, but it is far more than buildings and robots exploding. Michael Bay fans should not worry, though. There is plenty of that, too. In the latest installment of “Michael Bay Blows Stuff Up,” Bay holds true to his messy incoherent script writing, but it’s still entertaining. It truly is a sight to see — a big, beautiful, shining symphony of chaos, especially in the final act, which involves the Decepticons (including Shockwave, who is as awesome as fans hoped he would be) completely leveling Chicago for what seems like an hour’s worth of screen time. Yeah, guys, I know that Megan Fox is not in the movie, however, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is a more than worthy replacement. Not only is she a great fit for the role, she isn’t bad on the eyes, either. Also, don’t fret about her replacing Fox’s character in the actual role. Her character, Carly, is an entirely new addition to the film. It’s not as if the audience should think of her as Fox, because she isn’t. If there is even a small part of you wanting to see this movie, go see it. Going to see the films of this franchise, one knows what to expect. You don’t expect a Martin Scorcese or Spike Lee film. People go see these movies because they want action, special effects and robots that sound like dubstep songs. Filmed spectacularly in...
by despotmj | Jun 8, 2011 | Opinion
Disney recently released Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth installment of their nearly decade running pirate’s franchise. In this film, Captain Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp, is once again on a treasure hunt, this time for the fountain of youth. As usual, Depp is down on his luck, on the run from the law and without a crew or ship. Fortunately for viewers, Depp is rescued by a former love interest of his named Angelica Malon, played by Penelope Cruz. Cruz is a needed addition to the film, which has seen the departure of franchise favorites Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. From the opening scene, On Stranger Tides shows Depp engaged in an intense clash with the British government, where a member of his former crew is on trial for various charges. While in London, Depp pursues a person who has been impersonating him, culminating with his entrapment on a ship controlled by a voodoo practicing captain. The film keys on Depp and his misadventures as he pursues the most noted treasure of his own heart, which has eluded him yet again. Despite the addition of Cruz, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has grown stale, seemingly stringing together action scenes tied around a loose plot. Without Bloom and Knightley, the franchise has lost two of its most central characters, whose romance provided a well-developed side plot to the films. After three successful movies, On Stranger Tides seems to leave the franchise shipwrecked. Instead of asking Depp’s famous line, “Where has all the rum gone?” Disney should instead ask itself, where has all the magic...
by Tim Ghianni | May 18, 2011 | News Slider, Opinion
Sitting in Intermediate French Grammar class trying to translate English into French, I browse through the French vocabulary stored in my head searching for the right noun, verb, adjective, adverb, and preposition to correctly get my point across. What to say? How to say it? Time is running out. If I do not put something together to say, humiliation will appear across my face. So, French blurts out of my mouth. Of course, immediately my professor corrects me because I used the wrong form of the verb. The past tense of the verb was used instead of the necessary subjective form. Wait. What is a subjective verb? I would guess the majority of people could not classify all the parts of speech and how we use them. Why? Because speaking English is second nature to us. We learned the names of all the different types of speech starting in elementary school. We were like sponges absorbing everything taught to us without hesitation. Now, we use what we learned without thinking about it. However, if we try to break down a sentence now, it is nearly impossible to get everything right. If it is so easy for children to learn and absorb learning the English language at a young age, why is it that schools are not taking advantage of the vital state of mind of these children by teaching them a second language? Most schools in the United States start teaching foreign languages to students once they reach the high school level. Whereas, children in other countries are almost fluent in two other languages plus their own as...
