Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Jazz it up!

I have never been a big fan of poetry or jazz. So good think that's what we are studying! I have always wanted to be able to express my self through poems and other artistic things. It's just not happening for me I'm lucky to write a sentence with the right punctuation. Going along with today's lesson I would have to say it was pretty enlighting. I'm also sort of intimidated with having to read something I wrote in front of the class. I could never compare to the poems we read today. It makes a person wonder what they think about on a regular basis. The words they use to describe the things in their poems are hard for me to understand. I mean what does a girl with smoke braids coming out of a crater head mean? I know it's supposed to stand for something unimaginable, but I can't even grasp any kind of meaning for it. So, I'm already feeling somewhat lost and completely behind. But I'm going to try to open my eyes and not care so much what everyone else is going to think. I have a feeling they might be feeling the same way.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Lets Get High off of Yoga!


Not exactly what I expected the film to be, but honestly I don't know what I expected it to be like. It makes a person wonder how someone comes up with an idea like this. What made them want to invite all these people to a farm in the middle on a small town, no idea but more power to them. It's a pretty amazing thing to watch all these people come together not knowing what was in store. I don't think most of them knew where they were going to sleep, what they were going to eat, or if they were even going to get in. The thing is no matter how peaceful and nice everyone is; it has to be intimidating for the people running the show. Surprisingly they were so calm and happy with what they had done. I kind of get jealous that I wasn't able to live in the age of the hippies well not that I want to be a stoner, but jealous of how cool and comfortable everyone seemed. The world we live in now is so hectic and unpleasant, who would want to grow up in a world like that? Now it's very hard to find individuals that are happy with just hanging out and not caring about every little detail.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

"Live fast, die young, and have a good-looking corpse"

Nirvana, Nirvana, Nirvana...such strong lyrics and a lead singer with a big heart. I have always been a fan of the band, but I have always thought Kurt Cobain was just a big junkie. Well I suppose he did end up with that title. After reading about his medical issues I still don't agree with using heroin, but I can see how pain can cause people to do drastic things. I hated reading about the band's rough past. It's always so depressing to hear about children going through rough times, and makes me appreciate my family even more than I already do. It mainly focuses on Cobain's past and how he got into the alternative scene. It is sad to think he grew up having no friends, but thats what shaped him into who he was. He had a big heart for the people the world descriminated against. He also felt for woman all over the world who were being disrespected and not being treated fairly. I really enojoyed this article it is just so sad that it couldn't have lasted longer.

The Man in Black

"You can't wear black. It looks like you're going to a funeral. Maybe I am..."

This is one of me and my mom's favorite movies. So I was very excited when I found out we were going to watch it. The beginning of the movie is devastating, and makes johnny and his families life much more difficult than it already was. He took after his mom at an early age with a love for church hymnals, and he always hoped to accompany June Carter on stage at the Ryman. I know Johnny's heart was in the right place when he married Vivian because he thought he was in love with her. The truth is there was no way for their marriage to work after he broke into the music industry. He was on the go non-stop, getting into narcotics, and straying from the good values he learned as a child. It is kind of unbelievalbe that so many stars end up going down the wrong road. When are they going to wake up and see all the people before them that were killed by this stuff. Luckily forJohnny he still had June when everyone else had given up on him. I think that is why this movie is one of my favorites because it has a happy ending. She helped him find his way back to reality and it was so exciting when June finally said yes to marrying him. This story is different in that they might have went off the right path for a while, but in the end they found their way back and lived a very happy life.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do

Wow talk about keeping someones attention! That was one of the most compelling stories I have ever watched. I felt many different things while watching this movie. At points I wanted to comfort Billie when she got into bad situations, then yell at her for doing stupid things, and then I was mad at the people around her who helped lead her down the wrong road. It was just very depressing to see such a sweet young woman got herself into such a bad position. When Mr. Louis McKay was introduced I really felt like things were going to turn around for Billie, but still she refused to listen to the people who loved her. Although, before I can go getting upset with her I have to sympathies with her for how difficult her childhood must have been. A lot of people wouldn't have even been able to get as far as she did. She knew she had a gift and she loved to sing and thats what she did. I hate stories that don't have happy endings, but Billie still left us with many beautiful songs for us to remember her by.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

I want to be just like the rockstars!

It's weird to think that a music video could affect the way someone is living, but sure it can. Don't act like you have never watched a music video and never wanted to look like the singer or try to act as cool as they do on the TV. What I got from this article is that music videos have a huge impact on our society, and can make individuals do just about anything if they set their minds to it. They can make us support causes we usually wouldn't, dress in a different style, and do things that maybe we shouldn't. It uses 6 different music videos to express some of the signals they can send to the public.

Even though MTV isn't known for showing music videos anymore at one point that's all they did. When I do occasionally catch them showing one it's crazy how I find myself stopping and watching the whole thing. Then after reading this I really do realize how much affect they can have on a person. I can become sad, happy, or even pumped up after watching one. The funny thing is I would have been feeling none of that before I watched it. So I probably didn't get the full affect of this article, but I do feel I have a better view of how music videos influence individuals.

What in the Blue Blazes?!


This movie was a mix between a comedey, love story, and friendship. I think it needed every aspect to make it as good as it was. Petey was a honest man who had gotten into the wrong things, but you could tell from how he handled himself after the Dr. King shooting that he was a good person. I liked how Dewey the hot shot radio station producer ended up having the most confidence in Petey. They were living in two different worlds, but still were able to find common ground in the end. The chemistry between Petey and Dewey made it possible for them to be as successful as they were. As Dewey said to Petey in the movie, "I need you to say the things I can't say, and you need me to do the things you can't do". I love the concept of that and even though things didn't go as planned in the end they still made a great duo. It was sad that Petey passed as early as he did, but I believe he lived his life to the fullest and helped change people's lives. This is obvious because at his funeral over 10,000 people attended, and that says a lot about how much people respects him and how he affected thier lives.