Three Things That Stopped Me in My Tracks This Week

1/25 -
I intended to quickly check my email when I noticed I received a message from a member of my class’s student government asking me to participate in this years Dance with Heart event. My first reaction was that I was flattered someone thought to ask me if I’d like to do it. I’ve been trying taking advantage of fun opportunities when presented to me so I decided to participate! I have learned choreography in the past when I was in the musicals in high school, how hard could it be?

1/29 –
Mass last Sunday was one of the most enlightening masses I have ever attended. The mass was in honor of those who were martyrs defending the poor during the El Salvador civil war. The civil war ravaged the country, leaving the majority of its citizens in horrible living conditions. When one of the student volunteers whom went to help read a heart-felt letter of her experience there and what she has learned it was deeply touching to me. 

1/30 –
When I received the email from the school about the sexual assault that took place off campus it sickened me. The main reason I originally joined the Delta Tau Delta chapter at SHU is due to their local philanthropy of date rape and sexual abuse awareness. The fact that we are no longer affiliated this semester (we are fighting hard to come back next semester) and that we won’t have our philanthropy week this semester made me upset to think about.

Overall, this week was eventful to say the least. I found out today that my dance partner for Dance with Heart is Professor Gannon. I heard good things about her. The mass was an eye-opening experience. Lastly, the email I received on Monday makes me eager for the fraternity to be back on campus so we can promote our philanthropy more so than ever before!

State of the Union 2012

I set aside time this afternoon to watch President Obama's State of the Union Address having been unable to watch it live. There were a lot of ideas that I thought were genuinely great, however I don't believe them to be fiscally responsible at this time in the country.

I would consider myself leaning right on the political spectrum. When the Obama bandwagon started up in 2008, with the majority of my high school jumping on-board, I was able to resist. Yes, Obama's policies helped prevent the country from sliding further into recession, but at what cost? Yes, starting up new agencies and providing healthcare for all citizens sounds great and efficient, but is it fiscally responsible? 

The points of his speech that resonated most with me are:

1. Offering tax breaks for multinational companies, even bigger tax breaks for high tech companies, and tax breaks for those located in economically hard it areas.
2. Greater support of US's domestic energy solutions.
3. Creating a task force to monitor trade violations.
4. Increase in border protection.
5. I agree with the implementation of "Baffett's law" (30% tax rate for those making over 1 million dollars).
6. Maintain a strong military budget, while significantly cutting spending, in order to allocate the money in infrastructure, ect..
   
   What I questioned:
   
   

   1. Continue pressure on Iran's nuclear missile program sounds great, but the State of the Union Address gives the President a global stage in which he could of reprimanded the country for continued defiance to the global community and support of terrorism.
   2. Forcing Americans to graduate high school is not the responsibility of the government, no moral and logical repercussion possible for individuals who refuse.
   3. Where is all the money coming from?! Taxing the rich more will help, however other than cutting business restrictions the President's plan will more so raise short-term debt to dangerous heights.
      

Top 10 Favorite Albums of the 00's: # 9

Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004)

Genre: Indie rock, Baroque pop, Art rock

Label: Merge

Producer: Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire is a Canadian band that combines beautiful orchestrations, vocals, and lyrics to make amazing albums. Funeral is a beautiful album:  Arcade Fire deservingly won “best album of the year” for their album The Suburbs at the 2011 Grammy Awards. I could argue, however, that Funeral is the better album in my opinion. As cliché as it sounds, listening to this album is similar to going on an adventure. The opening track “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)” draws you in with it’s catchy string arrangement. The song’s whirly orchestration and earnest vocals from lead vocalist Win Butler sets the tone for the rest of the album.  The next track, “Neighborhood #2 (Laika)” is a loud, catchy, and fun track. It is here where you first here Régine Chassagne, the other vocalist in Arcade Fire, and the wonderful harmonies that occur when she sings with Win Butler. The lyrics get a little whacky here:

“Our mother should have just named you Laika!
It’s for your own good
It’s for the neighborhood,”

Butler sings passionately, with the assistance of Chassagne. The album flows on eventually to “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)”, which music and vocal delivery makes it an infectiously catchy song that makes your head nod along.

The song “Wake Up” is the standout track for me. The catchy, yet very simple guitar riff, sing-a-long-ability of the lyrics, and the vocals of Win Butler makes the song a huge win (see what I did there ;]). The song is somber and the lyrics are haunting:

“If the children don’t grow up,

our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up.

We’re just a million little godscausin’ rain storms, turnin’ every good thing to rust,”

the lyrics are amazing and very powerful. The music than shifts to bubbly and becomes more upbeat, which contradicts the words being sung:

 “With my lightnin’ bolts a glowin’
I can see where I am goin’ to be
when the reaper he reaches and touches my hand.”

It is a great song with a lot of heart. I recommend to anyone who is even slightly interested to listen to it.

The song following is entitled “Haiti”, which is sung by Chassagne. She switches between English and French making a song that sounds very pretty. It’s a very laid-back song. Next up is “Rebellion (Lies)” which is catchy with a bumping beat. The lyrical content is that of paranoia:

 “Hidin’ from your brothers
underneath the covers,
come on hide your lovers
underneath the covers.”

 Lastly, but certainly not least, is the amazing closer song for the album: “In The Backseat.” The song consists of the beautiful vocals of Chassagne. The song is about death, growth, and change. Chassagne sings passionately:

“Alice died, in the night,
I’ve been learning to drive.
My whole life,
I’ve been learning.”

 The line “I’ve been learning to drive” is such a great line. The weight and metaphor for life that is contained within it makes it a very powerful. The album winds down with Chassagne letting out a cry of emotion and the orchestra playing the album off. The song will definitely resonate with any listener. The orchestration throughout the album makes it something more than ordinary; rather it makes it an experience. A great amount of maturity is shown in Funeral, which is interesting because it is Arcade Fire’s first album. It is such an amazingly human album.

Standout tracks:

Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

Neighborhood #2 (Laika)

Wake Up*

In the Backseat*

America's Broken Education System (Video)

   
       It is well aware to the majority of the American public that the country's education system is broken. America could have boasted in the past on having the greatest education system in the world, however times have changed. The country is not even top ten ranking in reading, math, and science testing scores anymore ( Check it out here! ).
     I had come across this video even before taking the course on education and found it to be very interesting. I happen to agree that the country is stuck on an old system that could easily become obsolete and replaced by a more efficient system. Last semester I had taken a course called "The Human Journey: The Individual and Society Education and the American Dream" which enlightened me on just how the education system had become. It helped me come to the conclusion that there are 2 obstacles preventing a fixture of the public education system.
     The first being the irresponsible spending of the people in Washington. The stimulus package provided a great short-term boost to the sharp decline in the country, however the long-term solutions were not adressed enough. I.E. even more money should be given for education and research.
    The second is the teachers union in this country. Practically all attempts of change would be squashed by them. They do not want teachers to be held accountable. They operate as the interest of the whole, which unfortunately includes some pretty miserable educators.
   It is impossible to predict the changes that will occur in the public education system in the next 50 years, let alone a 10 years from now. If the country wants to remain prosperous the country needs to put a higher emphasis on education or else the situation will just become worse and worse.

Blogging and Stuff

What are some blogs I really liked. Why? :

http://www.absolutepunk.net/journal.php
Like displayed previously on my blog, I am a huge music fan. Absolutepunk.net is a music community site which features news of the majority of my favorite bands. The site includes a blog feature where many music enthusiasts posts their thoughts on everything from the music industry to thoughts on new music to life in general. I favorite of mine is the blog made by Jason Tate, founder and admin of the site. He has the privilege of receiving new CDs before the general public and he often shares his thoughts about it on his blog. Although never making myself a blog on the site, I tend to check the site's blog section from time to time to see if there is anything that interests me being written about.
www.twitter.com
Twitter or, like I've heard numerous professors state enthusiastically, the place where people go to blog without necessary realizing it. Perhaps there is currently not a larger melting pot of ideas on the internet than the social website. It is easy to use, fast, and a great example of freedom of speech. With the "trending" feature, it makes people on a local and global scale provide commentary on topics that garner a lot of interest at that time. I suggest everyone to get a twitter and tweet what's on there mind.
www.mlbtraderumors.com (?)
I love baseball (GO YANKEES!), and all the transactions and scouting that comes with it. The website provides a central hub for columnists and fans to discuss the latest news that's going on with baseball teams. Generally, I visit the site mostly on the offseason and during All-star Break to find news on trade and prospects. The site is definitely up there as most viewed websites for me (most likely facebook is number 1). It's an easy-to-use, resourceful site that I encourage any baseball fan to visit.
What features made a blog easy to follow? Off-putting? What features encouraged reader participation? :
The best features I believe that makes a blog easy to follow is it being neat and organized. Nothing is more off-putting to me than going to a blog and feeling to overwhelmed by clutter for me to properly enjoy ready it's content. I enjoy blogs which feature polls, so that it's readers may participate.

Do good blogs need to have a tight focus or not?  :
Not necessarily. Just as long as it's legible it's fine. Often if a blog is too tight focus it's easy to lose interest and stop following along with it's updates.

Is there a particular angle you want your blog to have? :
Just as long as it's entertaining and interesting to those who view it (wouldn't want to be boring). I'd like to keep up with my "Top 10" feature. It's been surprisingly self-reflective. Gives those viewing an insight of not just my musical taste but myself as well.
Based on your investigation, what are some key qualities and features that you want to bring into your blog? :
As stated above, continuing with the "Top 10" is important as well as maintaining a wide range of different aspects featured on my blog. Also continue being honest, honesty is extremely important to me.

Reaction: Lions for Lambs

Recently, I had watched the film Lions for Lambs in my "Writing with a Public Purpose" class. The film acts as political and social commentary in regards to America's mentality on war and pride. I personally did not find much enjoyment in the film. It attempts to confront "controversial" topics with the audience, however it came across as boring and lacking depth. The film seems to villainize the American military and political structure. I felt as if the film was trying too hard to make the audience feel outraged, which sucked almost all the enjoyment out of the film for me. The film goes as far as exploiting the death of the American soldier characters (who had died attempting to defend the United States best interest) to drill the tiring lessons into the viewers heads: war is bad and the people in power are taking advantage of it's citizens. Though they are important lessons, unfortunately they were poorly displayed in the film.

I always try to get something out of every film I watch. Sadly, in this case the film had not introduced anything new or thought-provoking to myself, as a viewer.

For those looking for an interesting political-drama providing commentary of America's foreign policy, and one which might make you think, I suggest Charlie Wilson's War. A film which explains how the CIA had helped fund the Afghan people rebel the USSR's invasion, and the troubling mistakes the American politicians made in the aftermath of the operation.

Top 10 Favorite Albums of the 00's: # 10

The Matches- Decomposer (2006)

Genre: Pop Punk, Indie Rock, Post-punk revival

Label: Epitaph

Producer(s): Numerous

The two words I would use to describe this album are: original and underrated. Decomposer is the sophomore release of the band “The Matches”. From the shrilling violin and yearning vocals from the albums opening track “Salty Eyes” you know you are listening to something special. This band commands your attention. The song “Papercut Skin” embodies the album as what it is: an exciting, musically satisfying adventure which The Matches vocalist Shawn Harris leads the way. The music is unpredictable from its breakdowns to the unique bridges that occur in their songs. The song “Sunburn v.s. the Rhinovirus” (produced by Mark Hoppus) is extremely fun. The song contains lines such as when Harris bellows:

“I’m de de decomposing
I’m de de decomposing
Below my clothes
I’m starting to decompose,”

and a zany section (I guess it would be considered the bridge ?) where it goes:

“I picked a bad day for the beach
Crowds of scarcely clad sides of meat
In spite of sunburn, I had a head cold
I blew my brains out through my nose.”

Lyrical content is often whacky, but brilliant at the same time. The album is filled with clever word-play which will certainly make you rewind in order to see if you heard the genius of it correctly. The album’s closer is “The Barbers Unhappiness”. It is certainly the most somber of the bunch of songs.  Sounding more Indie-rock than the punk / pop fused rest of the album. The ending lines of the album are:

“Do me a favor, be rational
save me the labor of the breakup call
just assume the worst
when the phone don’t ring, dismiss me to the hearse,”

a very somber ending indeed. The Matches had a very bright future when this album released. Unfortunately, they are no longer together, breaking up in 2009. Decomposer is certainly the gem in the bands catalog. Certainly, the album is a treat to anyone who has never listened to it. Just go into listening to it with an open-mind, take in all the wackiness and fun that this album has to offer.

Standout tracks:

Salty Eyes

Papercut skin

Sunburn v.s. The Rhinovirus

 Didi (My Doe Part 2)

The Barbers Unhappiness

First Post

Hey!

I'm excited to get started with this blog. The topics that I plan on discussing will range from music to sports to politics. I have begun a list entailing my Top 10 albums of 00's! I'm a huge music enthusiast so making a list will be difficult for me. At the same time, It is going to be fun going back and listening to some of my favorite albums.

   I am also a huge Yankees fan so expect a post on my thoughts regarding the Pineda / Montero trade shortly!

   Overall, blogging sounds like a lot of fun. Please feel free to comment.

Lastly,

this made me laugh: