Get ready M.J. fans! Just when you thought a fun kid’s play land – complete with petting zoo and carnival games – and leaving a legacy as the King of Pop music was enough, out comes….A VIDEO GAME! Michael Jackson has left an impression on the music lovers of the world that will last for as long as the earth itself will rotate. At first, in the eyes of his fans, he was running a close second to Jesus in the Relay of Life (*winky face*). At times his popularity started to leave a bitter taste in our mouths. After his death he has risen back to the top and all of the judgement seems to wash away. And wouldn’t you know it, his celebrity keeps growing with the help of his newest virtual publicity booster. He “Thrilled” us with his music and shocked us with his “change of color”. Now, as his legacy continues, Michael Jackson leaves yet another mark on history: Planet Michael.
Design a Baby
Body Image. Athleticism. Intellect. Health. These are some problems that people in society face. Life is a competition to be the fastest, the strongest, the smartest, or the prettiest. People strive to attain perfection; it is apparent in today’s society.
Take a look at the rates in cosmetic surgery. In 1997, there were 101,176 procedures for breast augmentations and 176,863 for liposuction. In 2008, the numbers jumped to 355,671 and 341,144 accordingly. In the past fifteen years, the average breast cup size in America has increased from a 34B to a 36C.
Fear. AH!
Ah! Spiders! These are just one of the many things that scare the heck out of me. The way they walk, with their slow intimidating prowl. Their black hairy bodies, and their small, freaky, eyes. I hate to be scared of something so small, but come on, have you even seen a tarantula? An elementary school in San Diego has just been infested with Black Widows. I pity those poor people. Apparently, one third of all classrooms were infested. If I went there, oh God, I wouldn’t just leave the school I would leave the city.
But apart from spiders, I have one other big fear: heights. Planes are the worst. I know that I’m perfectly safe in a plane, and that I’m not going to crash. But come on, like a 700,000 lbs. metal tube should stay in the air. The most scared I have ever been is when I’m in turbulence on a plane, and when I was on a gondola in Japan. Gondolas are the stupidest things. Who wants to be suspended way above the ground, hanging from a thin wire? I know that I don’t. My comfort zone ends at about 3 feet off the ground.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
This Saturday I refereed 3 soccer games. I recently passed my licence test for my level 8 refereeing licence. I wanted to become a ref for the money but also for the good of the game. As I found out, refereeing is much harder than a player or a fan may think. I was refereeing girls club games, not exactly the highest level of soccer. But after 3 games of chasing the game around the pitch, making dead out sprints as well as standing around, I gained an appreciation for refs. Although I now have more respect for them, chances are I will still harass them and get red cards. But I will at least be able to acknowledge (after I have cooled down) that they were just doing their job. So many refs nowadays are looked at as being pathetic old men. This is partly true because most are old men. But without them we cannot play. We don’t have to like what they do or how they do it, but lets show them some respect for them taking all of our abuse. Any soccer player, football player or basketball player can tell you all the times they have yelled at the top of their lungs at an official. We have all had refs who don’t know which end of their whistle to blow. But without them standing out their (they don’t usually run) we don’t get to play. So let us thank them for their service, and then continue yelling at them.
Devil
Today my friend and I were planning on going to see The Town. You know, that flick where nuns throw grenades and for once, Ben Affleck isn’t terrible. I saw this movie with my parents and this time, I wanted to see it with my buddy. Now my friend is 16, and thanks to super fine small print, i can only get him in with me if I’m 21. This was much to my dismay indeed, so after arguing with the clerk and not wanting to run into OVS kids on the Promenade, we tentatively decided to see DEVIL by M. Night Shyamalan.
Now, we realized that this was a PG-13 horror flick which basically meant it was a “P word” movie to us teenagers, and it was from a director who has been on the decline ever since THE 6th SENSE. The movie was a thriller about how Satan supposedly takes human form to punish the damned before taking their souls. This was something that we understood from the narrative and didn’t feel the need for the small spanish security guard to mention over and over again. We get it, the Devil is something that isn’t to be messed with, but when mentioned too much, it becomes a dry and useless redundancy.
The story was interesting and consuming during the beginning and as it made it’s way into the middle, not because of any plot, but because the movie was trippy as hell and the effects were awesome. Mix in the terror factor and we have ourselves a decent horror flick.
Texas did it again
On Friday, the Texas State Board of Education put an end to all “Islam references” in Texan World History textbooks. The resolution passed to put an end to the Islam bias in the textbooks. Supposedly, there are too many textbooks with too many lines devoted to the practices of Islam, and not enough to the practices of Christianity. Terri Leo, a Texas school board member, said that the resolution sends a “clear message to publishers that it should not happen in the future.”
Okay, first of all, I fail to see how any world history textbook can accurately teach history without making references to Islam. If we want school children to even vaguely understand the war in the Middle East, then they have to learn about Islam. Secondly, there is no way the Texas Board of Education can favor one religion over another. School is supposed to educate kids, not to brainwash them into thinking that one religion is better than another. By saying that Christianity is better than Islam is ridiculous. They are almost the same. One God, one messenger, holy scriptures, etc. 1.5 BILLION people are Muslim. The Texas Board of Education managed to insult nearly 1/5 of the world’s population by one silly, and very racist resolution.
Funk
My whole week has been a little hazy. My brain began to feel like a joint in your finger that feels like its just about to pop, but never really does. I constantly find it hard to focus on anything for more than a minute. Anything that is, but music.
Lately I’ve been able to zero in on multiple tracks on a song at once. New music is as exiting as ever, and my musical roots have taken on a whole new meaning. But through it all, and possibly the cause of these mind games, has been “Baby I’m Yours.” Breakbot’s instant classic has been stuck in my head all week. I even found the root chords and screwed around on the guitar for a substantial amount of time. Download at your own discretion. http://www.etmusiquepourtous.com/2010/02/17/breakbot-baby-im-yours-feat-irfane/
PDA
It’s no surprise that Hayley Williams would eventually make her way into this blog. Last week she was surprised by a kiss a fan gave her on the cheek and proceeded to throw a fit. To be honest I don’t understand why a kiss is such a big deal, especially a harmless one on the cheek. This brings me to the topic of PDA here at the Ojai Valley School.
It has come to my intention that hugging and even putting your arms around some one is unacceptable. Why is that? In other countries a kiss of the cheek is a hello, and I know that in the student handbook it even says that “a quick kiss on the cheek as a greeting or leaving” is acceptable. Why cant two friends simply be just friends? On several occasions I have been called about by different faculty members for just sitting alone with some even when I am in the open. This is a boarding school and technically, this is our home for around 8 months or each year. Shouldn’t we feel comfortable? If we aren’t able to be friends with someone of the opposite sex and spend time with them alone, I don’t see how that makes OVS any more home-like. I know that I just went off an a pretty long tangent, but I felt like that had to be said sooner or later.
With Heat Comes…
Many of you in the Ojai area have been witnessing the terrible nature of the recent heat. Earlier in the month the temperature seemed to have been cooling down with foggy days and brilliant jacket-wearing weather, but then the heat came sneaking in from behind, tapping Ojai on the shoulder and then slapping it on the face. Today’s temperature got as high as 104° F, and may I pleasantly ruin your week by telling you that the temperature tomorrow might even rise by two degrees. The heat is rather unbearable, especially for those of you out there (quite like me) who enjoy the type of foggy weather where you can hardly see ten feet in front of you.
Winter is coming around the corner but it is not coming quite soon enough!
Well, fellow Ojai-dwellers, prepare yourselves for another hot week. I’ll be here with you every step of the way, sweating and suffering along side you. Hang on my friends, for cold weather will come eventually! Until then we will deal with this heat… reluctantly.
Two Door Cinema Club- Just some British Music.
Last night, the 25th of September, Two door Cinema Club arrived in Brighton to play their first gig in the city. Luckily I was fortunate enough to be among the crowd in the small venue that they call Digital.
Two Door Cinema Club is an up coming indie/electro band from Ireland releasing their fist album, Tourist History on march the 1st 2010. Signed to Kisune Music the band are on their first sell out tour spreading their individual sound worldwide.
The band consists of members: Alex Trimble, Sam Halliday and Kevin Baird accompanied by Benjamin Thompson who acted as an additional member for there tour playing drums.
Indie music is extremely popular in England and Two Door Cinema Club are just reaching their boom. They have an extremely good reputation for providing a great live concert and they did not fail to disappoint.
The band was amazing and the two support acts : We Have Band and Kowalski also impressed with their unique styles and excellent crowd control.
Indie music is a great genre and one I think should be encouraged more in the U.S.
Here’s a taster of their music, I hope you like it.
You must be logged in to post a comment.