BYU: Releasing Documentary about Historic 2010-2011 Baskeball Season

Check out the most recent full length trailer for the new BYU Basketball documentary Amazing that I am working on. It's a feature length doc about the historic 2010-11 season that led Jimmer Fredette to becoming the consensus National Player of the Year and BYU to a Sweet Sixteen birth in the NCAA tournament. Stay tuned for more updates.

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Road to the Shire

So here's a little taste of what I've been working on lately--the most epic adventure ever. Me and two friends are out to convince Peter Jackson and his mates that we should be involved in the making of his films as extras or...whatever. We just want to be involved. You can check our website at roadtotheshire.com. Today we just gave our first interview with a fan site call Middle Earth News. It's really cool check it out.

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Adm. Lee Sun Shin or 50 Cent: Live Free or Die Tryin...or something like that

In the heart of Seoul in a place called Gwanghamun there is a free museum near by the area where the Seoul City Hall is under renovation. Inside you can learn about two very distinct personalities that have shaped and influenced the history of Korea and the consciousness of the Korean people. Above the museum (which is underground) is a square that hosts two epic statues of these Korean men: King Sejong the Great (say-juhng) and Admiral Lee Sun Shin (ee-soon-sheen). I had heard about them before from some Korean dramas but only after my visit did I really gain a fuller appreciation for the great contributions these two men have made.


First the Admiral. Born in 1545 he became one of the most celebrated military leaders in Korean history for his great acts of bravery and leadership during the Imjin War (War with Japan). His most notable battle would be his last as he held off a fleet of 300 Japanese ships from invading the Korean peninsula with a meager 13 Korean vessels. During the battle he was struck by a Japanese bullet and with his last words exhorted , "We are at the height of the battle, do not tell anyone of my death" in order to not hurt the morale of his men. After his death he was awarded the highest military honor of the time, the title Chungmugong meaning the highest loyalty. Many years after he was given a greater title that was something like over 18 characters long. He always celebrated during his career and faced many political set backs having been stripped of his rank many times and forced to become a rank in file soldier. Despite his challenges he remained loyal to his country and was a diligent soldier. He's definitely someone whose character prevailed over whatever hardships or challenges he faced. If you spend any real amount of time with Koreans you will gain a sense of their deep national pride and resiliency. Having been invaded more than any other country its no wonder that the Korean people share a sense of unity and determination to do their best for their own that is incomparable to many other cultures. Adm. Lee Sun Sheen in my mind represents this mentality in his vigor and loyalty in defending his country. In a famous drama he yells "THIS IS KOREA!!!!!!" to the invading Japanese. Another famous quote he is known for is "If you fight to save your life you will die. Those who fight as if they were to die will live" or something to that effect.

Just down the way is another statue even larger than the great admiral's. It is King Sejong the Great, the inventor of the Korean alphabet and generally the most revered leader in all of Korea. His words of wisdom have come to define many Korean cultural ideas and practices including respect for the elderly and all human life regardless of station. In his own words, "The common people are the foundation of any country. It is only when this foundation is strong that a country may be stable and prosperous." The whole purpose for creating hangul, or the Korean alphabet, was based around this idea. He created the alphabet because he felt that his people, who were largely iliterate (due to the difficulty of reading and writing Chinese characters), were unable to communicate their feelings and thoughts in their own language. He believed that if they could not express to him their wishes and feelings through the written word, he could not know of their needs properly. Facing great political opposition he created hangul and gave empowerment to even the lowest of commoners. He also created or over saw the creation of many other inventions that blessed his people including a new calendar system, clocks for common areas, a rainfall measurement device, and a system for writing a recording musical notation so that it could be passed on to the next generation. He is the most venerated leader in Korea and if you spend some time learning about him you can understand why. 

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