Warpaint.

YourcupateaLeave a comment

Warpaint.

Warpaint is a 4-piece girl band from Los Angeles. I’m guessing that when you hear the word girl band you automatically think: poppy, fake, materialized rubbish. This is definitely not the case with Warpaint.

Warpaint are an experimental art, rock group who formed in 2004. Although primarily indie, the girls describe their genre as Ghettotech, Melodramatic Popular Song and Psychedelic.

The girls came together to create a different type of music and sound, they succeeded.

With melodic and peaceful symphonies mixed with rock and guitar leads, Warpaint have conquered a combination that works wonders. Their haunting sounds relax and entice, whilst contrasting beats adding flavor to the  melodic tones and harmonies.

Releasing their first album “The Fool” in October 2010, as well their debut single “Undertow” the band captured the attention of many music lovers.

The group is scheduled to play at several large festivals over the summer months including Coachella and Glastonbury.

Warpaint are an extremely unique band that I admire greatly. I hope they keep producing and playing great music!

Tommy Reilly.

Yourcupatea1 Comment

Tommy Reilly!

Tommy Reilly is a singer, songwriter from Scotland. In 2009 Channel 4 hosted the show Orange Unsigned Act, Tommy was one of many contestants competing to win a recording contract.

The viewers, of the show, took a strong liking to Tommy’s individuality along with the judges. The emotional connection he held with a song often reduced him and his viewers to tears. He was unique because he was true to his heart and sang for his pleasure rather than to impress. With much support Tommy ultimately won the show.

After his triumph his first single “Gimme a call” was instantly released into the U.K charts. The song reached 14 in the single charts but unfortunately for him, his success didn’t last long.
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Wacky World of Football

therightliberalLeave a comment

Although I am still young, I have had the chance to work on all sides of football. I have played, refereed, coached and worked in the management.

For me there is an obvious favorite, playing. Playing football is a great feeling, one that allows me to get out all of my emotions. It is an art form. It is like I am in my element, one in which I am completely comfortable.

But playing is not that far ahead of the others surprisingly.

Refereeing is not what one might consider “fun” but for me there is a sense of duty. I am going out to ref with the idea that I am helping the game (although players may disagree). Being a ref is a very hard job and it has given me insight to the pain I cause refs when I yell and hassle them.

Coaching is very exciting for me. It gives me the feeling that I am opening up a whole new world to kids. I remember the joy that learning football gave me and I try to emulate that. I hope that my coaching gives kids a opportunity to go have fun and learn as much as they can about the game of football.

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Insulted.

theycallmedameLeave a comment

Okay, I know we’ve already had the “Rebecca Black” blog post done by yourgingerkid, but I’d like to take a different point of view on the matter. Yes, like yourgingerkid, I do feel bad for Rebecca Black, she’s young and doesn’t deserve all of the death threats, and she also probably doesn’t know that her voice sounds like a walrus on crack. But I also have to say, as a musician, I am insulted.


(Said Walrus on Crack)

As a vocalist, I am insulted that a 13-year-old girl and so much autotune that you don’t even know what her voice truly sounds like (except for the fact that it’s unbelievably nasally) has gotten recognition for being “the next Justin Bieber,” even though he isn’t that fabulous anyway.

As a lyricist, I am insulted that a mere child is talking about partying, and even more so insulted that, in her bridge, she sings, “We we we so excited, we so excited, we gonna have a ball today.” I’M SORRY, but it really makes me cringe that she couldn’t use “we’re” or “we are” or just follow the proper rules of grammar.

As a musician, I am insulted that electronic instruments, terrible electronic drums, and a music video with more awkward dancing than a middle school dance has more than 73 million views.

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Raise Your Weapon

vabenissimoLeave a comment

Titles, reputations, and rumors kill me.

They spread like fireballs and grow infinitely at a blinking rate.

Who on earth could possibly find themselves intelligent enough to title another?

How does one assure that he or she is not observing the silhouette of another?

Age, class, and wealth.

Should these factors really grant one the power to be judgmental?

Phony, fake, genuine, inconsiderate, kind, spoiled, thoughtful, respectful, ignorant, rude.
Even if one finds such titles necessary and appropriate, one should never forget that these adjectives can act as fatal weapons in tearing apart another’s heart.

Once this principle is disregarded, the war begins.

As in retaliation, the two sides will unconsciously hold a grudge against each other. Although difficult and disturbing to recognize, this vicious cycle is an inevitable part of human nature.

In fact, reputations must stem from some sort of solidity, but never from nothingness.

One word, and it’s all over.

So please, raise your weapon. And fire, until your enemy cries for mercy, it is the only way to survive.

Raise your weapon.

Ignorance Isn’t Bliss

yourgingerkidLeave a comment

I’ve been at OVS for five years now. It’s safe to say that I can call it home away from home and a place that has played a major role in shaping the person that I am today. From age 12 to 17, a person in most easily molded due to being in the formal operations stage of cognitive developement. A normal teenager wouldn’t dream about spending this much time at ‘home,’ but here you don’t really have a choice.

In a normal household, in a normal life, you are exposed to the outside world. You see tragedies happen first hand and just simple little realities of life. Up on a desolate hill with less the 125 people it’s like living in a zoo. We have absolutely no clue as to what’s actually going on in the real world.

Can’t we watch the news during breakfast?

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Every morning a constant flow of students make their way in and out of the cafeteria, some staying for a meal and others rushing through. Would it be so much to ask to turn on the news to see what’s going on outside our little world?

Just last year when the oil spill off the coast of the Mexican Gulf, most of the students weren’t aware of it until a while after. I found out because I was in Advanced Placement Environment Science, but I’m pretty sure that most of the foreign population had absolutely no clue about it.

It’s so silly! Why can’t the news be turned on in the mornings? I can say that if the news were to be played I would actually eat breakfast and not rush through. I’m sure that a lot of people would. Hell, it’d educate us, not distract us. There really isn’t a reason not to turn it on in the mornings!

It’s Today

shredicusmaximusLeave a comment

Today I woke up to hear that I got into Chapman University. My baseball team the Ojai Valley School Spuds beat Ventura County Christian 7-4 in an exciting game yesterday. I saw my confidant Colm Barrett pitch into the 5th inning striking out 12 and permitting 4 unearned runs,  Cole McIntosh hit a clutch RBI double in the first inning, and I don’t want to brag but I pitched pretty well too and got my first career save.

Seems that the good is going to continue for a while, at least for another 6 months and I’ll tell you why. It’s opening day today.

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We’ve Heard Enough About Rebecca Black!

sennymcflyLeave a comment

Good lord! Most of us know who she is. The girl who made a hit song that blasted through the charts and made iTunes enough money to take over the world and give out free iPads to everyone in Africa. She became famous within the time it takes for your heart to beat twice. But, what she really did was she turned the best day of the week into a NIGHTMARE!

I promised myself that I would refrain from posting my feelings on the internet so I will try to keep my comments at a calm and reasonable level.

Since the thirteen year old “superstar” hit the web her fame has grown to a completely unnecessary and undeserved spot at the top. Seriously man, if girls like this can hit number 2 on MTV‘s charts with a song like that then I want nothing to do with the music business and every real artist that has ever made music should just quit now.

*Now, just a side note: I just want to point out that it doesn’t really surprise me that much that she reached number two because MTV sold out a long time ago so… Going on.

You were so cool MTV. What happened?

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Prom?

dmilesburtonLeave a comment

Well, next Thursday is prom. The girls are buying their dresses and picking hairstyles and the boys are realizing that they might need a tux. But OVS isn’t the only school with a prom. Among all the news of events in Libya and the Final Four, one article caught my eye.

Oliver Levin, a Boston native, wasn’t quite sure how to ask Sarah, a fellow student in his journalism class, to their prom.

“I knew I wanted to ask this girl. She was, you know, awesome. She’s really pretty. She’s really cool. She’s wicked chill, nice person to talk to, and I wanted to get to know her better,” he said, later adding that if she said yes, that would be, “totally clutch.”

Levin, an avid Boston sports fan, especially when it comes to the Bruins, had a stroke of genius the afternoon before he attended a game against the Montreal Canadiens.

As he walked into the stadium, he had with him his ticket, his Bruins’ jersey, and a flip cam.

He took several takes of his prom date appeal, and went through several ideas, from asking the whole section to yell “Hey, Sarah will you go to prom with me?” to its final takes, in which several fans lay out the idea and prepare Oliver for the actual thing.

When Sarah went into her journalism class the next day, the teacher announced that random student had submitted a video to be shown in class.

As the video played, the class’s confusion only grew. That is until one of the fans featured in the video said Sarah’s name.

When she turned around, she was met by Levin, who was holding roses.

Anyway, I thought this story was an interesting piece of news, mainly because it seems so trivial. But hey, it caught my eye, so I guess it’s got at least one reader.

Oh, and for the record: she said yes.

Colleges.

theycallmedame2 Comments

College college college college college college college college.

I’m in 10th grade, a minuscule little sophomore, and I already have counselors and parents coming at me saying, “It’s never too early,” and “I think you have the initiative. So just start now!”

It’s not that I’m not thinking about college, because I am. I’ve been thinking about what college I want to go to since 8th grade. But with everyone just all of a sudden coming up to me and asking, “Oh, what do you want to major in? What college do you want to go to? What do you want to do with your life?” everything becomes a bit overwhelming. Because, in all honesty, I get embarrassed when I tell people what I want to do for a living. I’m not embarrassed of my career choice, but I’m embarrassed of their reactions. Every single time I mention what I want to become, someone is there to shoot it down and leave my hopes at rock bottom. I want to do what makes me happy, but obviously I’m the only one who sees it that way, aren’t I?

“Oh, Aria, what do you want to do with your life? What do you want to do when you’re older?”
“I want to be an English teacher.”
“You want to what!?”
“Be an English teacher. And work in theatre. But mainly English.”
“Oh, honey, how foolish could you be? Don’t you know the salary of a teacher?”
“I do, but I don’t care. I want to teach.”
“Oh, well, you’ll see it our way soon.”

WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?

I understand that I won’t have the highest income out there, but teaching is something that I really want to do. I’ve never had a teacher who has effected me neutrally, they’ve either been a huge positive influence on my life or a huge negative influence. I want to be the teacher that a student will remember forever. The teacher that can teach and just possible change someone’s life. I want to be able to help people in one of the simplest ways. I want to teach.

So it shouldn’t matter to other people whether I want to be an English teacher or an astronaut; it’s my decision and they can’t change my mind.

So maybe I’ll go to USC, or UCLA, or some microscopic liberal arts college on the east coast. Maybe I’ll change my mind and attend freaking Harvard.

But it’s my choice now, and only mine. They can just deal with it.