Day: September 11, 2012

The Beauty of Independence

Daphne Psaledakis5 Comments

About three weeks ago, on my way to the Ojai Valley School for the beginning of the school year, I was dragged out of bed at six in the morning and loaded into my dad’s truck along with my luggage and two little brothers.

We were on our way to the airport in Denver, Colorado, and set off from my hometown Aspen so early in the morning because of the four hour drive ahead of us. Although the drive might sound long, it is not as tedious as one would expect.

My dad starts the truck with just a little bit of trouble, enough to make me look over at him and raise my eyebrows in a sleepy haze. He’ll blame it on the cold of the morning, but I think he was just as tired as the rest of us. He did manage to successfully back out of the driveway (without hitting any mailboxes or trash cans), and we were en route. Knowing these were my final hours with my family before not seeing them for three months, I settled in for the drive up Independence Pass.Read More »

The New Realm of Music

callmemaybe32Leave a comment

As an enjoyer of many things musical, I have a very opinionated view of where the music scene is going. More recently the electronic/house/trance/dubstep/(or whatever you may call it) scene has been making its appearance.

This certain genre of music started off on the wrong foot in the eyes of the society it was breaking into. Underground raves were popping up all over the place, and kids were dying because of drug overdoses, kidney failure, liver failure, and all things linked to drinking and drugs. It is because of this rocky start that electronic dance music began to make a bad name for itself in the music world.

This music has just started to break the mold it was forced into because of stupid actions of crazy teens and young adults.

There are artists such as Skrillex, for example, who have completely changed their lives because of this music. Skrillex, or Sonny John Moore, was homeless just a year and half before accepting three grammies at the 2012 show. He is now one of the top recording dubstep, progressive, and electric artists that exist. The bad name that this music has been given is being erased with all of the success it has been bringing about.

Just as I am writing this post a song by Skrillex has come on through my headphones, and it gives me a certain feeling. A head bobbing that is uncontrollable, a foot tapping that is contagious, with my headphones in I am in my own world, but others around will know that I am enjoying what I am listening to.

Now, while this music created by artists like Skrillex, Bassnectar, Deadmau5, and many more, it is not created with the traditional drum, guitar, and bass. Rather, it is created with a computer to simulate these sounds, and also to give them a completely different sound. This is not to say that these electric songs can’t have real instruments in them.

In fact the very song that has inspired this is a new single released by Skrillex and the Doors, called “Breakn’ a Sweat.” This track features the traditional Skrillex sound created by computer software, mixing boards, turntables, and midis, with the sound that the Doors have created for years with keyboards, drums, guitar, and bass. The track also features vocals from Skrillex himself and the members of the Doors.

This video features a little bit of what went into making this track.

WELCOME BACK WORLD!!!-Worst Person #21-New York Jets

backinphilly2 Comments

Well Dang its been a while. Tons of time has passed. Summer came and went and here I am back at school and everyone has that look of excitement to begin the new school year. To start us off on the right foot, I’m bringing back everyone’s favorite series, “The Worst person in sports”. Whether it be a team, owner or player, there’s always some sense of athletic mediocrity. This year, we will start with the New York Jets.

There’s a lot I can say. I never addressed it last year but Tim Tebow going to New York was just dumb. There was no reason. I thought Mark Sanchez was quite overrated, yes. But Tebow is NOT an upgrade. And that’s only the beginning.

In the preseason the Jets did not score a touchdown until their final game. The funniest part? The quarterback that threw for the touchdown was Greg McIlroy. That’s gotta be embarrassing.

Now a little recap of…MY EAGLES WINNING THE SEASON OPENER TO…….cleveland. HAHAHAHAHAHA

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The Incredibly Riveting Life of Horace Spareberg: A Comedy.

smackyjackjack4 Comments

Interesting image isn't it? Or is it?!

Horace’s day began like any other.

The alarm clock awoke him at 7:15 like the scream of 1000 banshees. He quickly turned it off.

Horace put his two atypically large feet onto the gelid and icy floor. He took his first two steps of the day down the moderately sized suburban houses hallway towards the bathroom.

Once there, Horace turned the freezing shower water on. Braving the cold, he lathered, rinsed and repeated rather dully for the appropriate number of cycles. After that fiasco, he dried off and went back down the dark hallway towards his breakfast of monoton-o’s and peaches.

While slurping down his cereal, Horace pondered death.  Specifically, Horace wondered what the chances were of him choking on any one of the small, tasteless, bran circles.

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The US and its difficulties leaving Afganistan.

frog31 Comment

https://i0.wp.com/www.justicewithpeace.org/files/u1/ObamaHope.jpg

As many of us know, President Obama has made strides to end the unpopular war in Afghanistan. The US military wishes to transition Afghanistan from a US defended country into an Afghan defended country. The US military’s plan to pull out of Afghanistan by 2014 has reached several snags.

For one there is concern that the former Taliban regime will return as US forces prepare to leave the country. This issue in recent weeks has become a more prevalent problem. On August 12th, 2012 a man disguised as an Afghan police officer opened fired on afghan policemen and US Marines. It is believed that this man was affiliated with the Taliban.

This prompted General John Allen to issue an order that all US soldiers must carry loaded weapons on military bases in Afghanistan. These recent events have only served to weaken US-Afghanistan relations.

https://i0.wp.com/afghanappealfund.org.uk/images/afghanchildren1.JPG

Cake Pops

kirbyfullyloaded2 Comments

Today I discovered confectionary perfection.

Mother of god.  Can I just say that cake pops are quite possibly the best thing that ever happened to dessert?

It’s cake.

On a stick.

And it’s all rolled up in that yummy hard frosting, festooned with candy bits.

So I bought some funfetti cake pop mix from Vons and made some cake pops with my sisters.

They’re really easy to make, there’s just a fair amount of time in between steps.

There’s the mixing time.Read More »