free write (review of memento)

Just like every week we have a free write, I never know what to write about. So I’ll just do what I always do and review a movie. Since that was once our blog topic, I figure it is appropriate enough to blog about. I am going to review a movie called Memento. This movie is my favourite psychological thriller that I have ever seen. The movie is about a man whose wife is killed. The man is on an endless hunt to catch and kill who is responsible. However, the man suffers from short term memory loss which makes tracking down the killer very hard. In order to remember information, he takes Polaroid pictures of people and places and adds a short description to remember who they are. For very important information, he has it tattooed to his body. The movie begins at what is portrayed as the end of the story. Throughout the entire movie, it shows what steps were made to reach that point in the story. The plot works backwards in this sense. The movie is full of interesting twists that will keep you guessing until the end. In fact, the end of the movie reveals a secret that you will never see coming. I was blind sighted by the outcome of the movie and it was a very well thought out plot. This movie is nothing short of brilliant. This is a type of movie in which you must focus on the development to understand how it actually happened, but if you can concentrate to the end, the outcome proves to be very worth it. I have not met anyone who has watched this movie and not liked it. It was easily the best movie of the year (2000). I give this movie 9.5 stars out of 10.   

the new jazz

The jazz age also known as the roaring twenties, paved the way for new music in America. Alchohol was under prohibition at the time which lead to many clubs selling illegal alcoholic beverages to become popular. These venues also provided live entertainment most commonly was the new music known as jazz.  However, most people were not fond of the new jazz. Some people unbelievabley feared that the music was promoting the immoral and illegal acts people were commiting during the roaring twenties. Professor Henry Van Dyck of Princeton University wrote “...it is not music at all. It’s merely an irritation of the nerves of hearing, a sensual teasing of the strings of physical passion.” Over time, people began to enjoy the music more and more. Typical jazz groups would consist of brass and string instruments and in some cases a piano as well.

                Many reputable jazz musicians appeared during the roaring twenties such as Bix Beiderbecke and Louis Armstrong. During this era Paul Whiteman wrote the famous “Rhapsody in Blue” which is personally my favourite piece of jazz music. These musicians influenced many swing artists who appeared in the nineteen thirties ushering a knew era of jazz music.

                The music of this time was unlike anything anyone of the time had ever heard. The music was very loud and syncapated featuring a saxaphone sound mostly. Many aspiring young people would buy sheet music to learn to play their favourite tunes just as their favourite jazz heros would. Jazz began taking over dance clubs due to its smooth rythems and beats, the music was very enjoable and easy to dance to. Soon, no one could go out any given night with out becoming a slave to the rythms and sounds of the new jazz. Jazz music is what made the roaring twenties what it was.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_music#1920s_and_1930s

http://www.trailend.org/dow-jazzage.htm

what I'm thankful for.

haircuts
darts
juice
snack packs
lakes
dreams of dancing
music
CD's
books
radios
meat
scarves
flower patches
handshakes
spaghetti
shakes
watermelons
catalogs
grilled cheeses
birds
stuffed lions
pandas
axes
christmas
hip hop
beaver families
swiffer
balloons
truffles
road trips
mittens
water
hot coffee
ideas
jellybeans
dominos
wii
coca cola
baseball bats
BBQ fiestas
little Caesar's
crazy bread
Halloween
pop tarts
egg nog
peppers
saltines
tomatoes
oreo's
fireworks
dance contests
aerosmith
diamonds
treats
whips
bricks
roller coasters
Mike tyson
sharks
serenades
BalloonShop
 

free write week (review of passion pit: manners)

Not many people have heard of the band “passion pit;” those who have adore them and cannot get enough of them.  The band has not been in existence for very long. In fact, they first originated in 2007. They have five members and play a strange style of music. Some call it electro pop, synthetic pop, “wonky” pop, indie pop, or just indie rock. Their style of music defiantly has a sort of electronic feel to it. The lyrics are sung in a very calming manner and take on a unique tone. Their instruments include keyboards, guitars, synthesizers, samplers, bass and drums. The somewhat strange musical instruments make for a very unique sound. The group’s most famous album, as well as my personal favourite, is called, Manners. Released in May of 2009, the album has generated many downloads and hits around the country. I have certainly given it quite a few listens myself. The album includes fourteen songs all different and unique in their own way. While some may have an upbeat tempo and exciting format, others may be slow, somewhat generic, and calming. When it comes to music by passion pit, you never know what the next song will sound like. Whether the song is to your liking or not, one must admire the creativity of the group to be able to incorporate such strange sounds, rhythms, and patterns into their work. If you are someone who does not enjoy music such as this, you may find it distasteful. However, if this music interesting and you are looking for something different than the music of today’s popular culture, this album is a great place to start. This particular album will get you hooked.  It may not be immediate, however you will enjoy most of the songs and grow to enjoy this group from this album.   

self-reliance survey

It’s okay to be jealous sometimes – there’s always someone who has it better than you. This is not true. Jealousy helps no one. Jealousy is an evil that takes over many people’s minds. People think that jealousy will not negatively affect them, but they do not think that jealousy will lead to anger envy and hate. While it is true, that there always is someone who has things better together than you, but they may be lacking something you have which you should be thankful for. Emerson wrote in Self-Reliance, “There comes a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance.”

People don’t deserve nice things unless they work for them. This is true. If two men are working for the same goal and both men achieve the goal while one of them puts in little work, is it fair? Marching band serves as a prime example. There are about one hundred and fifty people looking to achieve the same goal. However, on most days, only about twenty of those people work to make themselves, each other, and the program better. Through all the hard work those twenty people did, if the band scores first place in a competition, everyone receives the same praise and satisfaction, however those who worked deserve the prize more than those who did not.

 You don’t know what you’re capable of until you try. This is true. So many people miss opportunities in life because they believed that they were not capable. Many people, when applying for college, tend to not apply for schools such as Yale and Harvard because they think they will never get in. As it would happen, those schools are accepting more and more people who apply because of the fact that hardly anyone applies for them.  

origin of Halloween and traditions

Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the Goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia, it is more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain, whose original spelling was Samuin. The name is derived from Old Irish and is roughly translated to “summer’s end.” A similar festival was held by the ancient Britons and was known as Calan Gaeaf. The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the lighter half of the year and beginning of the darker half, which explains the “scary” factor behind the holiday. It is sometimes known as the "Celtic New Year". The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spiritsto pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home while harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces. Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames. Sometimes two bonfires would be built side by side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual. Another common practice was divination, which often involved the use of food and drink. The name “Halloween” and many of its present-day traditions derive from the Old English era.

Phantom Regiment's Faust

In 2006, the drum and bugle corps known as Phantom Regiment, performed a show called, Faust. The show was about a man who bargains with the devil but, he underestimated the devil’s power. By doing this the devil started controlling he and he could not break free. To properly depict this theme, phantom regiment used many percussion breaks; dark sounds, and much accented and articulated notes. At one point in the show the corps forms a chart in the shape of a pentagram. Musical selections for this show included Scythian Suite by Prokofiev, piano concerto by Corigliano, Ave Maria by Biebel, and Ressurection symphony by Mahler. The corps brilliantly represented the Faust story by having their colour guard almost create the story on the field in front of you. Two colour guard members were depicted as a man and a woman in love. Another colour guard member wearing a devil’s mask destroys the love between the two and ends up taking over the man. The first piece introduces the devil to the show. The second piece shows the tow people in love. The third piece shows the devil destroying that love. The fourth piece is of the man fighting back with the devil and regaining his love. The Faust story performed by phantom regiment brilliantly depicts what the old Faust tale said and offers the corps’ own unique way of ending the story. When watching the show you really get the feel of the Faust setting and story as well as the visual representation with the colour guard. The show was overall one of phantom regiment’s bet performances and very well depicts the Faust story.     

Would you confess to witchcraft?

In Salem, Massachusetts during the Salem witch trials, if you were accused of being a witch you were usually brought to trial and could either confess or deny the charge. If you confess to the charges, whether you were a witch or not, you could face either life in prison or banishment. If you deny the charge, again whether you are a witch or not, you would be assumed to be using witchcraft and either hanged or burned. In Salem, if you were thought to be a witch you had no chance of proving your not. Now, I am faced with an issue. If I were accused of using witchcraft it would be a hard decision to either confess or deny the charge. If I confess I will live, but I will most likely be locked up for the rest of my life. If I deny it, I can try to prove I am not a witch but, it would be next to impossible to try and convince otherwise. I would probably choose to deny the charge. By doing that, I may have a chance to save myself and convince the court that I am not in fact a witch. Even if that didn’t work I would rather die than spend the rest of my life in captivity. I see it as going down in a blaze of glory as opposed to the cowardly confession. Life would not be worth living is I were kept in captivity. To have the town mock and ridicule me as I sit back in my cage and take it until I finally give out, is not worth surviving that long for. For that those reasons I would choose to deny the charge. Some may think I am crazy for practically giving my life away, but I think it is a better option to just deny the charges.  

Review of Donnie Darko

I recently saw the psychological thriller, Donnie Darko. The movie, directed by Richard Kelly, is about a troubled teenage boy who discovers the secrets of time travel while trying to avoid a menacing, seven foot tall, doomsday prophesying rabbit. While the description may sound strange, this movie was an amazing piece of cinema. This movie will keep you guessing not only to the end of the movie, but even for a while after watching it. This movie has makes you really think about life and predetermination. If you have never seen a psychological thriller this is a great one to start with. The movie has great performances from such actors as Jake Gyllenhaal, James Duval, and the late Patrick Swayze. I fell in love with this move about three hours after watching it. That may sound strange, but this is the type of movie that makes you think for a few hours after watching it. In fact, I did not really understand it fully until I researched the movie on Wikipedia to try and understand what I watched. After the first time I watched the movie, I did not declare it my favorite. I did like it a lot, but it was not my favorite. However, when I watched it a second time I began to understand it more and it became my favorite movie. I like it more and more every time I watch it. It is because of this movie that I have gotten in to watching more psychological thrillers. I saw this movie about a year ago and it is still my favorite movie. While some people do not like the movie as much as I do, I believe that once they understand It their opinion will change. On a scale of one to ten I would give Donnie Darko nine and a half.

Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon review

Recently, I downloaded the Kid Cudi album, Man on the moon. The alternative hip hop artist, Kid Cudi, is a genius. His work is much different from the mainstream hip hop garbage heard today. Rather than singing about drugs and gangs, Kid Cudi sings about life and the pursuit of happiness making it much more pleasing to listen to. Kid Cudi is much more creative than most of todays hip hop artists. The fifteen track album is divided into five different acts including "The End of Day," "Rise of the Night Terrors," "Taking a Trip,"  "Stuck," and "A New Beginning." Each act has two or three songs in it that represent the act in lyrics or rhythm somehow. Kid Cudi's lyrics are very deep and his feelings in this album are well expressed. The album is also very relaxing to listen to. I have heard the entire album many times and I have not yet grown tired of it. His lyrics are very relate able, and I can connect with it very well. The album also includes guest appearances from artists such as Kanye West, Common, Ratatat, Billy Craven, and MGMT. These artists are all respected in the same field as Kid Cudi making the experience of listening to the album much more enjoyable. Entertainment Weekly said, "Cudi turns out to be that rarest of rap phenomena: a hyped upstart who really does represent a promising new phase in the genre's evolution." I used to hate rap until Kid Cudi came into the picture. This album is some of the best work I have seen in the genre. Kid Cudi is on his way to be revolutionary. This album was a perfect first step and I recommend it to all. Regardless of your musical tastes, you will enjoy this album.