Day: March 9, 2011

Should Players be Fined for Their Opinions?

therightliberal4 Comments

After the Barcelona vs. Arsenal game, Robin Van Persie made some comments that are sure to get him fined or suspended.

Robin van Persie receives his marching orders after kicking the ball away

They included calling the official, Massimo Busacca, a joke. I have been on both sides of the spectrum because I am both a soccer player and a certified referee.

I know from the side of the official that it is not fun to be criticized. This poor official was insulted on a public scale. Although he did have a horrible day at the office, it should not matter what is performance went.

In my mind the right of free speech carries over to soccer players. The players have opinions and they should be able to express their opinions without facing fines or suspensions. However, my feeling is that refs should have every right to have a rebuttal about what a tool the player in question is.Read More »

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

yourgingerkid2 Comments

As humans we are entitled to make mistakes. In fact it’s our nature to make mistakes, and then to regret.
What if we could erase what we had done on our own minds?

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a movie that discusses that very idea.

Scripted by Charlie Kaufman, the sci-fi romance film follows an odd couple, Jim Carry and Kate Winslet, through their relationship. Clementine, Kate Winslet, has ever-changing colors of hair and is the first of the two to erase their memories. Then follows Joel, Jim Carry, only to find that what they lost through the operation only brought them back to the starting point with the famous phrase “Meet me… in Montauk…”

Personally, this is my third favorite movie, after Transformers and Donnie Darko. It’s strange to see Jim Carry in a serious movie but he did an amazing job.

Without getting too personal, this idea comes about more than I would think when I’m alone. What if we could forget certain parts of our lives? Is it ethical?

In the movie Joel asks “Is there any risk of brain damage?” in which the technician replies, “Well, technically speaking, the operation is brain damage, but it’s on a par with a night of heavy drinking. Nothing you’ll miss.”

Ultimately it’s up to the participants, but I thought that I would let this idea sit ineveryone’s head.

The Radiant Child

smackyjackjack1 Comment

Jack’s Movie Pick of the Week

The Radiant Child is the story of Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child Poster

Jean-Michel Basquiat has been described as the most important artist of his generation.  Basquiat was born December 22nd, 1960 in New York city.  He was interested in art from an early age. His small cartoons and doodles eventually blossomed into a career.

Basquiat had a short career. He died of a drug overdose shortly before going out to a concert with his friends on August 12th, 1988. In his short life, Basquiat managed to creat some of the most powerful and unique art of his time. His art was praised by one of Basquiat’s best friends, Andy Warhol.

Final Verdict

This is a good documentary about a very important artist. The editing is a bit rough at times, and the film itself could have been cut more. But aside from that, the story is engaging, and the subject is intriguing.  This is a good documentary for those who love expressionism.

Easy Steps to Hack a Smart Phone

vabenissimoLeave a comment

Which digits should you defend the most in your life?

Most people would say their social security numbers.

But, in the 21st Century, things changed. Many of us now possess this multifunctional device called “smart phone” where we input our innermost personal information negligently.

So, let me make a slight change to the question above.

Which digits should you defend the most today?

It’s your phone number.

A hacker can gain your social security number, pictures, texts, and name me other personal information in three easy steps.

First, get the number and name of the smart phone owner. This is when business cards become particularly handy.

Second, send programs such as snoopware, simphishing, spam, bluetooth, to trap the device.

Third, uncheck the SSL and “wipe” or hack the device for information.

Now this “smart” phone would not sound so smart anymore.

To maximize our smart phone security, downloading “Norton Smartphone Security” is strongly recommended.

However, “We’re still in the late ’90s when it comes to security on mobile devices,” Tyler Shields, a computer and mobile security researcher, said.

What can we truly do?

Give yourself a second thought before typing anything onto your exquisite device. Because it can bring you harsh consequences within seconds.

Check out this article from New York Times and videos.

O Music, Where Art Thou?

theycallmedame1 Comment

Okay, rant time.

Music Appreciation.

I am currently sitting inside the journalism classroom between fourth and fifth period with three other students and “thebrownguy.” (by the time you read this I probably won’t be in the classroom, but whatever)

I am playing Queen on my computer.

One of students raised their head from their computer screen with a confused look on her face, “What band is this?”
I look at her, stunned.
“You don’t know what band this is?!?” I’m shocked.
“Um, no, should I?”
“Um, YES!” I exclaim, “Queen only wrote We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, Bicycle Race, Fat Bottomed Girls, Bohemian Rhapsody, and that’s just naming the famous songs!”

The rest of our time goes like this:

“Do you know who Aerosmith is?”
“No.”
“Guns N’ Roses?”
“No.”
“Led Zeppelin?”
“No.”
“Oh my god what is wrong with this generation?!?”
“I know Drake and Rhianna, that’s pretty much it.”
“WHAT?”

I want to cry.

How can we live where the only music people appreciate is written by someone who isn’t the artist, the chord progressions are so generic you can find 100 other songs with the exact same ones, and that the voices are doused in auto tune and pitch correction the listener doesn’t even know how the artist really sounds like?

What ever happened to real musicians?

The Beatles, Bessie Smith, Queen, The Turtles, Tom Petty, Michael Jackson, Andrew Anderson?

Have we really reached a point in history where those who are “musicians” have a pretty face and cheap software to make their voice sound like a robot on crack?

Oh world, please come back to your senses.
Please?

R.I.P. Biggie Smalls

dmilesburton1 Comment


March 9th, 1997, 1:15 AM. Christopher George Latore Wallace lies in a hospital bed. He has four bullet wounds in his chest, and he is dead. In the coming hours and for years to follow, Wallace will be mourned by more than just his family and friends. Biggie Smalls, the face of east coast rap, has died, and rap music will never be the same.

Wallace was twenty four years old, and if you asked his mother the day he was born if she thought he was going to be one of the greatest rappers in history, she probably would have said no. A straight-A student at a private school, he later transfered to a state-funded school where Jay-Z and Busta Rhymes were also in attendance, where he began rapping.

Wallace released his first demo in 1992. It gathered almost no attention for him until he was featured in The Source’s Unsigned Hype column. He then was invited onto a mixtape that was reviewed by Sean “Diddy” Combs, who imedeately signed him to Uptown Records.

His first solo album was released in 1994, and it peaked at #13 on the Billboard 200. By the end of the year, he and Tupac Shakur were involved in one of the largest hip-hop feudes of all time .

Two years later, Shakur was shot in Las Vegas, Nevada. He died six days later due to complications from the bullet wounds. Before Shakur was pronounced dead, Wallace had already been blamed by multiple sources. A formal investigation was never conducted, but Wallace denied any relation to the shooting.

In 1997, Wallace released his second album, which ended up at #1 on the Billboard 200. He had gotten in a car accident that shattered his leg during the recording, and had decided “to focus on his ‘peace of mind’. ‘My mom… my son… my daughter… my family… my friends are what matters to me now'”

On March 8th, 1997, Wallace attended the Soul Train Music Awards. He left after the show was over with no idea that in 45 minutes, the world would lose one of its most prominent public figures, him.

R.I.P. Biggie Smalls

Never Let Me Go

vabenissimoLeave a comment

We want to avoid death and accomplish to live a “perfect” life which explains why plastic surgery, organ transplants, and other genetic modifications are taking place in our current society.

These practices may prolong our lives, give temporal aesthetic pleasure, and also blindfold us from understanding how much our only life genuinely worth.

Finishing the film “Never Let Me Go” directed by Mark Romanek, I was moved by every inch of its messages, especially of one regarding mortality.

It is never safe to play with our human nature. Drug abuse such as increase usage of botulism, operations, and test tube babies all give a chill to my backbones and frowns my eyes.

But, we constantly try to achieve “perfection” and underappreciate our flaws.

Our issues of insecurity and death should be readdressed. Then, we would more likely to become happier.

I see life as a fleeting beauty. Because life destined to end at a given point, it shines and worth like nothing other.

Perhaps, we first need to learn how to let some things go.

Ain’t No Tomorrow

shredicusmaximus1 Comment

“Ain’t No Tomorrow,” was the mentality, the driving force, the inspiration, and the trigger for the greatest run through the post season the NBA has ever seen. The 2000-2001 Los Angeles Lakers were an interesting spectacle. Injuries, a new cast, and most of all, a loss of harmony and togetherness between it’s two main characters make this season sound like a popular soap opera one would tune in to watch on NBC. Also on NBC, the NBA was the main sports broadcast, and so were the Los Angeles Lakers who in a season went to hell and back to leave us with the greatest showing of post season dominance we as fans have ever seen.

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Best Coast

yourgingerkidLeave a comment

It’s not common that a band is found that is titled exactly as they sound.

Best Coast, a rock group from Los Angeles, California sounds exactly like a California summer should. They sound pretty much like the 1950’s rock scene mixed with modern beachy music which makes an overall enjoyable sound.

Their lead singer Bethany Cosentino, pictured above, is the main attraction with her easy going voice and her overall adorableness. The band however also consists of female drummer, Ali Koehler, and a multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno.

The band is currently signed to Mexican Summer Records and is continuing making new albums. However their older music can be found all over hipster blogs and youtube along with itunes and mediafire.

Bethany is practically my idol because not only does she write all her own songs that are easy for everyone to play, she also is an overall beautiful person. Her life also relates to mine in the sense that both our dads are musicians and we have very similar tastes in music. She also isn’t afraid of what other people think of her music.

She stated in an interview, “I don’t know. I’m inspired by the idea of writing about romance and writing about love. I think it’s relatable thing. I think that when you write a record of songs that are all really about really loving somebody, or really caring about somebody, or somebody is driving you crazy because you can’t figure out what the situation is… I think anybody can listen to a Best Coast song and can think, “Oh yeah, I’ve been there at one point in my life.” and she couldn’t be further from the truth.

For more of that article click here

If you haven’t heard of them or listened to them give it a try, and hey if you don’t like it, no big deal.

Cross-Country Challenge

yourgingerkidLeave a comment

I’m sure that plenty of people will be blogging about this soon, but last week eighteen students, including five students from this blog, went on the honors ski trip.

We all packed up Monday morning and made the six hour drive to Yosemite in two school vans filled to the brim with snacks and camping equipment. I hadn’t been to the snow in five years, so needless to say I was ecstatic.

I had also never skied before. Here is where my actual blog starts.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

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