Month: March 2011

Don’t Talk About the Fight Club

sennymcfly1 Comment

Imagine a crowd of guys shouting and pumping their fists in the air, circled around a meaty, muscular goon and a buffed out Brad Pitt covered in sweat and blood. Now, imagine those same guys but a little bit shorter, with higher voices, and the [former] Justin Bieber haircut.

Moms all around the country are always bragging about how proud they are of their sons. “Oh! My boy is so smart! He makes me so proud. He makes so many good choices, he’s just so perfect!” Well, that may not be the case in Tacoma, Washington. Nine proud mothers discovered that their “perfect” little boys were not so flawless after all.

Sure! You should absolutely be proud of your kid if he knows how to defend himself physically. You don’t want your kid to get hurt do you? But, maybe it’s not so impressive when he’s bashing another kid’s brains out.

Recently nine pre-teen boys were expelled from their school because they were part of their very own Brad Pitt flick. Oh, and I would just like to emphasize the words “pre” and “teen”. Seriously, these guys are in sixth grade! Anyway, these nine prepubescent middle schoolers decided it would be cool to start a fight club. Underground gatherings, secret membership, blood, sweat, and soap, the whole shabang.

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The New Ipad

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Since the iPad 1 was released in 2010, 14.79 million of the tablets have been sold. On March 2, 2011, Steve Jobs returned from medical leave to introduce the new iPad, iPad 2.

The new iPad is a thinner, lighter, and faster version of the old one, but it will sell at the same prices as the original models. The iPad 2 includes a front and back camera, which the people are allowed to have video chat.

It will be available on March 11, and the prices will range from 499 dollars to 829 dollars. Despite his health condition, Mr. Jobs still show up to introduce the new item because he strongly believes that iPad is Apple’s future. “We’ve been working on this product for a while and I just didn’t want to miss today,” he said.

Although companies like Samsung, Dell, Motorola have also introduced rival tablets, they are not able to match the iPad’s pricing. For example, the Motorola Xoom costs 800 dollars, and The Samsung Galaxy Tab is available for 500 dollars, but it is way smaller than the iPad. So Mr. Jobs believes that the new ipad will still be the leading tablet computer in the future.

Lasers

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Lasers

In 2006, Lupe Fiasco released his first album, Lupe Fiasco’s Food and Liquor. It peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Top Rap Albums.

In 2007, Lupe Fiasco released his second album, Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool. It peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Top Rap Albums as well.The CoolFood and Liquor

Lupe Fiasco then moved on to his next project, his third album. That was 2008. It’s been almost three years, and only recently (i.e. October 2010) did Atlantic announce a release date for Lupe Fiasco’s third album, Lasers.

Coming out on March 8th, 2011, Lasers has been an intense effort. Fans have created countless websites, signed petitions, and even demonstrated in front of Atlantic’s office’s to get the album released.

Now, Lupe is ready to reclaim the charts, and the world seems more than ready for his return.

The Tunnel

theycallmedame2 Comments

A simple breath,
Take it in.
A glance sideways,
With a hidden grin.
A brush of hands,
A lifted heart,
Dreams can’t die,
Before they start.

You’re a nightmare,
Making my dreams come true.
You’re a fire,
So burn on through.
You’re the light in the tunnel,
But that might be the train.
You’re a stranger with open arms,
I’m glad you came.

It’s another life,
The one we lead.
Cherish it now,
Before it leaves.
With a brush of hands,
And a lifted heart.
Our dreams won’t die,
Though they may depart.

Lil’ Wayne laments; “I Hate Love”

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Lil’ Wayne released a track this past week titled, “I Hate Love,” that is, for a comeback, quite dark. I’m not sure if anyone remembers 2008’s mild musical disaster, Kanye West’s 808’s & Heartbreak, but when I heard this new style Weezy’s picked up, I immediately flashed on that. It’s dark, it’s passionate, and it’s auto tuned.

That’s really all there is to this track. Like 808’s, it’s very repetitive and not very catchy. Overall not a bad song, but when Lil’ Wayne is trying to come back from something like “Rebirth,” it’s gonna take more than just a song like this.

Lil’ Wayne is almost always upbeat and funny, so to see his music shift in this direction is quite a surprise. The only thing to do now is sit back and see how it pans out for the usually robust rapper and his up comeback album Carter IV.

The Art of the Steal

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Jack’s Movie Pick of the Week

The documentary The Art of the Steal is the story of the struggle to control the late Albert C. Barnes’ priceless collection of post-impressionist art.

Albert Barnes was born into a poor Philadelphia family on January 2nd, 1872. He worked his way out of the slums by inventing Argyrol, a drug used to protect babies against venereal diseases.   The drug was mass marketed and Barnes made millions.

Around this time, a new type of art was starting to become popular.  This art was called post impressionism, or early modern art.  Popular artists in this field were Henri Rousseau, Van Gogh and Paul Cézanne to name a few.

Barnes noticed that this would eventually become famous and stocked up on as much of it as possible.

He started the Barnes Foundation as a place to educate people about the wonders of art.  The building was designed to teach, not to show. He started several very successful art classes based out of the art lousy building.  Just how much art was there? It is appraised at over $25 billion dollars worth.  And that isn’t even counting the priceless and un-appraiseable art such as Van Gogh’s “Postman”.

When Barnes died in a car accident in 1951, he made several things very clear in his will. First of all, the art was to never be removed from the walls of the Barnes Foundation. Secondly, the art must be used to educate. And most importantly, he said that the art may never be sold. He also did not want the Foundation to become a museum.

After a series of rather bad managers, the Barnes Foundation was in dire need of money.  The art was eventually sold to many of Barnes’ old nemeses.  It was sold to museums and the art was squandered to many different museums.

As of now, the city of Philadelphia has ignored Barnes’ dream to create a peaceful location to learn about Pre-modern art. The Foundation is set to move to the center of Philadelphia to become a museum. This is being done to boost the tourism of the city.

Final Verdict

WATCH THIS MOVIE!! It is a great documentary that shows the heist of a multi-billion dollar collection of art. The more people who watch this movie the better.

Bloc Party.

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Bloc Party

Although I’ve done lots of music blogs I’ve realized I haven’t done one about an all time favorite bands of mine. Bloc Party.

Bloc Party are described as British alternative rock. Although classified as this, in my opinion the band’s music is not one specific genre. The group’s music explores different melodies and styles adding to their unique sound and on going success.

Forming in 1999 they made their break into the industry in 2003. They got their voice by throwing a demo onto the stage of Scottish band Franz Ferdinand who backed their music along with BBC Radio DJ Steve Lamacq.

In 2005 they released their first album Silent Alarm. Since then the band have progressed and grown to become a world renowned act.

After seeing them live in October 2009 the band sadly decided to take an extended break. Luckily for me I managed to see them on their sell out tour at the Brighton Centre, Brighton, witnessing an otherworldly performance.

Although the venue was full of moshing teenagers and Indie kids the concert was still amazing and these features just added to the atmosphere. Kele (lead singer) was an amazing stage presence awing the crowds with his voice and attitude.

Since taking a break Kele Okereke continued his success releasing solo album “ The Boxer” in 2010.  Other members took the opportunity to explore doing their own projects, enjoying life and having fun.

I can’t help but hope that they will once again reunite in the near future, creating more great music and filling my iPod with more of their songs.

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“TOGETHER” we achieved it.

shredicusmaximus2 Comments

My room, 11:46: If you walked in you’d find me watching game film. I had a coke in hand so as not to doze off during the 4th quarter, and as I tried to find a comfortable position, my eyes were ever glued to my computer screen. Deficits of 13-0, 35-28 and 40-32 were erased as we fought with such resilience and the grit of warriors that even the most unemotional soul would have burst into applause.

When it got there, to the play I wanted, I rewinded and replayed until I was satisfied. I remember it as if I was still there. Ojai Valley School running “Duke,” a defensive play. Less than half a minute to go, 49-48 Thacher. Thacher’s guard throws the ball away, I hustle the width of the court to retrieve the ball before it went out. I get it, immediately pass to guard Alex Alvirez. The pump fake, defender goes flying by, Alex drains the three, we’re up 51-49. My Facebook status after the game received comment after comment describing the back and forth, come from behind win in their gym as, “intense.”

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You Could Be Happy And I Won’t Know

Paloma Spencer1 Comment

As we travel through life, through different adventures and different scenery, through the lives and impressions of others, we sometimes seem to forget our past in order to allow room for the present, as well as our future.

We recount past moments at the most random of times, as a glimpse of something causes us to recount a childhood memory or a time of laughter or love, heartbreak or sadness.

There are things we never forget: close friendships, successes, love, and regrets.

Lately I have wondered what a regret truly entails.

Of course I have made mistakes, and have wished I had said things differently, or maybe not at all. But what if I had switched “I hate you” with “I love you” or “no” to “yes” or “go” to “wait.” What if the one tiny moment was supposed to happen? What if that one little word changed everything? And without it, I would never be where I am now.

Maybe it is just an excuse in order to rid myself of the idea of what could have happened. But one thing I know for sure, I do truly miss you.

I miss your funny haircut, and your stupid smile, and the way you would make fun of how slow I would run compared to you. I miss your dimples, and your laughter, and your old, run down truck.

And if I had said something different that day, and didn’t let you go, then our lives would be completely different. Different friends, different school, different life, and I don’t know if I would ever be as happy as I am right now.

I know that we all have loved and lost, whether it be a loved one, friend or family member. And its normal to miss, but maybe if we do have regrets, we should look back and realize that each little moment truly counts, and even the bad ones are necessary in order to add up to something great.

Life may be full of uncertainty, but happiness is happiness, and all I can do now is wish you happiness too, wherever you are.

You have made me realize that I should never regret. And although I may have to let go, I won’t forget.

Promise.

Links

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/16/the-price-of-regret/?scp=1&sq=regret&st=cse

http://www.1888articles.com/how-heavy-is-regret-08ey7c8h84.html

My Two Cents

sennymcfly1 Comment

So many writers have blogged about image and the pressures to have the “perfect body” and how you should love yourself for who you are and how the world’s opinion doesn’t matter. All of this is true, but for some reason no matter how times we say it, we just don’t seem to get it.

As children we are usually raised under the impression that image doesn’t matter. Our parents always tell us not to judge others by the way they look, but how they act. “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, right?

We say that, but do we really mean it? You can tell a girl struggling with anorexia that she is perfect the way she is and then go to the bathroom, stare at yourself in the mirror and question your own perfection. We are all hypocritical and we all know it, but we don’t say it.

It has been brought to my attention that body image is a real problem. One thing that is clear is that it is a big problem here in Southern California.

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