Because I Have To...

I didn't write a post last week, not because I forgot, but because I really couldn't think of anything worthwhile to write about. I didn't want to make the post sound forced, I really wanted to connect with what I was writing, so I decided to wait until I had a good topic to write one. However, I don't want to get really behind on my posts, so now I feel forced to write this one.

Well, that's a problem.

So, in order to write a good post, I'm going to try to stretch my dilemma into something bigger. It may not work, but it's worth a try considering that this is part of my grade.

The problem of connecting with what you are doing not only applies to writing, but to all subjects in school. The problem is that the only to truly enjoy school is to be interested in every class you are taking. For example, I have very little motivation to study for a Spanish test because I am just not interested in Spanish, but I have to take it so that I can meet my graduation requirements.

The things is, the classes I truly want to take - the ones I would be most interested and most motivated in - aren't a requirement for graduation, and thus I really don't have time in my schedule to take them. I had to take two years of summer school so that I could take the classes that I really was interested in. I completely understand where the requirements come from, but in a perfect education system, every kid would be able to study what they are interested in, without having to cram information into their brains for a test when they know that they will never touch that knowledge again.

I know that this post isn't my best, but I thought it was just something interesting to bring up, since I had to write this post.

It's Not Just About the Beats

One major theme of American Studies is looking deeper, thinking critically, and not taking things for face value. So, as I sit here listening to Deadmau5's masterpiece album For Lack of a Better Name, I figured I would try to get rid of some misconceptions that people seem to have about electronic music in general.

To begin, most people listen to the radio and they hear pop music made up of basic chord structures, cheesy synths, and a simple four-on-the-floor drum beat. While this is true in pop music, I have learned, through research as well as creating my own music, how complicated making GOOD electronic music actually is. Artists like Deadmau5, Wolfgang Gartner, and Skrillex not only know their music theory, but they know sonic theory (that's what I've decided to call it). They're quite literally sound engineers. They know how different waveforms interact with each other, how to apply filters, modulations and effects, all so they can get the sound that's in their head. Don't believe me? Here's a video of Deadmau5 explaining his set-up. It's quite complicated.

In the same way that musicians sit and practice their instrument for hours to improve, these guys practice designing sounds for hours. Just search the internet for how to make a bass like Skrillex, nobody can figure it out.

So next time your listening to an electronic song, try to think of what goes into it. It's not just drag-and-drop build up, drop and beat. A lot of musicianship and skill goes into creating a good electronic song.

Powerpoint Really Can Kill

This short week, we talked a lot about how to really make a good presentation. No, this doesn't mean millions of bullet-points with graph after graph of unnecessary data. And yes, while it is fun choosing the color scheme of your pie charts, those don't work so well either. The key to a great presentation, is to almost NOT have a presentation.

Stay on the Right Path

As we began Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" this week, we began to talk about major themes that surround the book. One major theme is the separation between civilization and wilderness. As it turns out, this is a major theme in many stories. "Little Red Riding Hood" is one obvious example.

The basic model is that there is a civilization, usually with one road, with a forest right on it's edge. The road tends to represent the "correct" life path, while the forest, or the unknown, represents straying off of the path. In the case of "Little Red Riding Hood", if you stay on the path, one follows the life that generations before have followed. It is safe and care-free. However, if one strays from the path, danger (in the form of a wolf, in this case) awaits.

In my opinion, this is a very old-fashioned way at looking at things. In our modern world, there is no way to stay completely "safe" and on the right track. One very clear example of this shift in thinking is an interactive music video by the band Arcade Fire. The video is to the song "We Used to Wait", and it expresses the idea that there is no right path. Everything can be dangerous and scary, even in your own home town. It is a fantastic project called The Wilderness Downtown. You need Google Chrome for it to work, but it is worth downloading Chrome just to see this video.

Is Everything Cropped?

This week in American Studies, as we were looking at two versions of the same award-winning photograph, we discussed which one is "truer".

Here is version one:

Here is version two:

So, which version tells the truth about what is going on at the time? Some may argue that it is version one, because that one shows the what is going on outside of the main focus of the scene. Others may argue that it is version two, because this one shows, in detail, the scene that the photographer was trying to show. 

In my opinion, neither of these of very "truthful". In order to fully understand a scene like the one depicted in this photo, you not only have to know what is going on at the time of the photo, but what events preceded it and what the effects of it were. Otherwise, although it seems like we are getting the full picture, we are only getting a snapshot (haha, pun) of what was really happening. 

So it seems as if every piece of news we encounter in our life is cropped in some way. Somethings have been cut out, and some have been placed in for a certain reason. Whether because the news source is bias or because they simply did not have enough room in their story to put certain pieces of information in. Just something to think about.

A Little Reflection

As I sit and read all of my past posts, there are a few things that come to mind. First, because I have been a regular blogger for quite some time before starting this one, the format of my blog posts usually stays fairly consistent. In addition, the topics that I blog about are all about what we have discussed in class. However, one thing that I noticed was that the posts that were the most interesting and informative were the ones that included quotes or links.

What I think is my best post is the post titled "The Biology of Race". In this post I took the time to research the question of whether race is truly biological, or simply made up. I looked at many websites, and picked out the few best quotes I could find. I then compared and contrasted my findings to the statements the movie we were currently watching in class had made. I also look at my findings from multiple angles. "[The previous quote] both strengthens and disproves the movie's statement about race, depending on how you look at [it]." I then go into more detail about both sides of the argument. It is important to show both sides of an argument, so the reader can judge for themselves what they think is right, based on the evidence you gave them. I have not done this in all of my posts, however.

In my most recent post, "Why is the Confederate Flag Still Flying?", I was very proud of myself for making an argument about how the Confederate flag is a symbol of pride, not slavery. However, I forgot to look at the other point of view; how different groups of people perceive a symbol like the Confederate flag, and go into detail. Instead, I just provide my opinion, which in this case I do not feel is right. I feel that it is important to show and examine both sides of an argument, something that I will try to do not only on this blog but throughout my life.

My posting started out pretty simple, and then got my exciting once I started adding links, videos, and quotes. This is one way in which my blogging has improved. I have used media to get my reader's attention and inform them of my topic so I don't have to in writing! There are times when I cannot find a good website or video to link on my blog, but I have really been trying to find one for every single blog post. They make the posts not only more informative, but make them seem more friendly.

I am quite proud of my blogging this quarter, and I cannot wait to see what other tricks I can throw into my posts as I learn more about how to use Blogger!

Why is the Confederate Flag Still Flying?

I'm going to begin with having you watch a video. As you watch, try to see if you can notice anything...interesting about it.



The first thing that I noticed about this video was the fact that there is a Confederate flag flying behind Skynyrd as they play one of the most widely recognized songs in rock n' roll history. But didn't the Civil War end, like, 112 years before this concert, and 109 years before the song was even released? Yes. If slavery is abolished and the racism that plagued our country then isn't as prevalent now, why would Skynyrd throw a Confederate flag behind their stage?

This question came up this week during American Studies. We talked about how even though the Civil War is long over, people in the South still proudly wave Confederate flags and put on their houses in the same way that we would put Chicago Bears flags on our houses. We had a long discussion about why this could be. Does it mean that these people are racist? Do they want to bring slavery back into our country?

The answer to both of these questions is no. Just because you fly a Confederate flag does not mean that you are racist. Instead, it is a symbol of pride. The men of Lynyrd Skynyrd are proud to be Southerners, as are anyone else who flies one of these flags. It is part of the heritage of the South to have a close-knit community. You were proud of where you came from. I believe that this is what the Confederate flag represents present day. After the Civil War, the South was left completely in ruins, and the flag represents Southern pride in that sense that you know where you came from and support it. You don't necessarily support all of the ideals, but you are proud just to be from the South.

While the Confederate flag has a very negative connotation, just the same way that the Nazi flag has a negative connotation, people may not have the extremist beliefs that are associated with these symbols. However, if an African-American happens to see the Confederate flag, they may think that it represents racism. If a Jewish person happens to see a Nazi flag, they make think it represents anti-semitism. For the reasons I stated before, this is not necessarily true.

So this is just something to think about. I'll admit that when I first saw that Skynyrd video my first thought was that they were racist. However, when I thought a little deeper, I thought that may not be the case.

This World Is a'Changing

As we talked about slavery in class, and more specifically laws about slavery, we began to talk about why certain things were. For example, one law that we talked about was how slaves cannot carry weapons. This was clearly put into place because at one point a slave was caught carrying a weapon. I soon began to think of things that I encounter in my everyday life and why they are a certain way.

First, I was driving and began to think of why someone decided that one can make a right turn on a red light at many intersections. It doesn't seem like something that one would just come with off the top of their head. One logical explanation is that when a car is stopped at an intersection but no cars are coming the opposite way, it seems like a waste of gas. Plus, a right turn isn't crossing any lanes of traffic, so it seems quite safe. Someone, somewhere, must have complained, and the idea soon spread. 

Although this is only one example, everything is constantly changing. These changes are to make things easier, safer or more efficient. It will be very interesting to see how our society changes in the upcoming years!

Don't Make Me a Target

Ok yes, the title is a reference to a song by Spoon (from their classic album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga), but this is not a post about music. This is a post about advertising. More specifically, ads that target you. I'm sure you've seen them, on the sidebars of your Facebook page and even your email account, there are advertisements that seem to be perfectly fitted for you.

No matter what sport you play, instrument you play, or group you participate in, websites have a way of knowing exactly what you do. It's kind of scary actually. For me, I can open an email from Guitar Center and the top of my page immediately shows an ad about buying a new guitar. On Facebook, almost every ad I see is for new music. While it can be beneficial, because I am usually interested in the advertisements, it is just a little bit creepy.

The Biology of Race

One major theme in American Studies this week has been the topic of race. We watched the documentary Race: The Power Of an Illusion, which discussed common beliefs about race. I decided to research this topic a little more in order to write a blog post for this week. I decided to look more at the biology of race and whether different races were biologically different. 

The first website I came upon was cartage.org, in which the article discussed skin color. An interesting point brought up was that the only reason that different skin colors developed was because of location. 

"In subtropical areas...the people living there develop extremely dark pigmentation.  In southern Asia...people’s skin darken[ed] to a lesser degree...As you move further north into the Arctic region, the sun becomes stronger and the glare off the snow mix to create a people more similar to the Asian people ( Dunn 318-320)."

This is very interesting because it makes the point that in the same was that animals in different regions develop differences in order to adapt, humans develop these slight differences. It is interesting to think that we classify different people just based on where their ancestors lived. 


Another interesting point was brought up by Joseph L. Graves Jr, in his "What We Know and What We Don't Know: Human Genetic Variation and the Social Construction of Race." He states in his conclusion:

"Human genetic variation is real. It is best described by isolation by distance, meaning that individuals who have ancestry in particular geographic regions are more likely to share genes than those from disparate regions. The overall amount of measured human genetic variation, however, is very small, yet this does not mean that it cannot be categorized."

This both strengthens and disproves the movie's statement about race, depending on how you look at the quote. The movie made a point that while there are genetic variations between people, they are not strictly between races. So I could have just as much variation with my white friend than I do with somebody in Japan. This quote says that while there is variation between races, it is because of, once again, location.

There are many different ways to define race, and it is very interesting to see how people categorize people by something like skin color: something that only came about because of location. It doesn't make much sense to me, and it makes me wonder why we have had this system of race for hundreds of years.

Coming Down to Earth

In American Studies this year we are exploring something known as the "collaborative lecture" (or as Mr. O'Connor refers to it, the "collecture ©"). It is essentially just like it sounds, a lecture that the community adds to and improves. In my opinion, this is a fantastic idea. As it not only lets the student get information and point of views from their peers, but it also minimizes the amount of outside research that each student has to do! It also brings the teacher onto the same level as the student. This got me thinking as to whether this concept to be applied to other areas.

The first example I thought of, of course, was the music industry. It always seems as if the artists are on another level than the fans. However, thanks to the internet and social networking, this is changing.

The Media and Their "Secret Messages"

A major theme throughout AIS this week has been the concept of "secret messages". These messages aren't directly stated in writing, instead it is word choice. The fact that a story leaves some words out, or decides to put words in can say a lot about the views of the author.

Is This Reality?

Throughout this week in AIS, we have talked about where we get our news from, and if those sources have any biases. This brought up the burning question, "What is real?" If news sources each have their own biases and ways of telling the story, then is there really any way of knowing the true story?

The World in a Different Light

Within the past ten years, the combination of television and internet have made information - whether good or bad - more accessible to just about everybody. However, there could be a side effect to this media frenzy. In American Studies, we have been looking at artifacts from a "deceased" Mr. Bolos. While looking at the many interesting objects that con-
tributed to what made Mr. Bolos who he is today, there is a question that came up many times. "How will I be remembered?" This question cannot simply be answered in one word, or even two. One must explore legacies in pop culture that have been left, and more specifically, how media has shaped them. [image]

Hey World!

This is just to get the blog started