Robert Hancock Blog 24

Junior year feels just like every other year honestly, it's all a drag. A necessary drag, but a drag none the less. I can't really complain, grades are as good as can be expected and I have done well on the ACT but I feel I could do better. So I will. Classes feel about the same, but the work load is noticeably more. Honestly I can't wait for summer. I can move at my own pace, choose how my day will be spent and get to experience a period of minimal worry. I will get to look forward to my future and not have to juggle school as well. School was alright and that's all I've got to say about it. It is necessary but I don't feel any animosity to it, I'm just ready for it to be over. Classes were hard but nothing impossible, I found teachers I like and some I didn't. English has been pretty good, and I'm not just sucking up, while math has been far less good due to my particular teacher. Overall it's been a slow drag to the end but when it does end i will be happy.

Holden Huffman Blog Post #24

My junior year has been pretty good.  Classes have been more difficult, but that's a given when transitioning from 1 AP class to 5.  My grades haven't been as good as in the past but I've maintained A's and B's the whole year.  I got a decent score on my ACT and I hope I do well on my AP test.  Some of the things I have learned this year are:  Ms. Dewees is a VERY good teacher, but is very serious about math, so bring your A game; all junior core teachers are pretty awesome (chill, good at teaching, nice, helpful, etc...); take your junior year seriously, as it is a year that colleges care about; prepare well for your ACT.  This year has been a good year, but I'm really looking forward to the summer.  I plan on getting a job, FINALLY getting my license,  working on my mentoring project, and starting to learn how to play the piano (I've just always wanted to know how) over the summer.  So there you have it, my junior year and my plans for the summer.

Blog Post 23- Gloria Pulley

If you’ve ever felt like creeping on me, you will probably notice that I take every opportunity to listen music.  This is because people are loud and overwhelming.  So since I cannot go sit in a dark, quite room all alone, I listen to music. 

Here’s my perfect people-tuning-out playlist:

1.      Graveyard Whistling by Nothing but Thieves-

I will not lie, this band makes me feel like a badass whenever I listen to them.  The band in general has dark and mysterious sound to it.  Lots of kickass guitar.  Great, slightly screechy vocals.  Hardcore song names like Hostage, Painkiller, or Drawing Pins.  I enjoy tuning people out with the song by focusing on the rhythmic drum beat and piano chords.  I highly recommend this for when you are looking for some empowerment as you charge through those unit assignments or blog posts. 

2.      Conrad by Ben Howard-

So fair warning, I listen to a lot of British bands with a lot of guitar.  Recently I was sitting outside on the top of UBC’s student union when I heard a familiar melody coming from the courtyard below.  It was student who had set up his guitar and amp and was singing this song.  I dropped my conversation with my dad and started singing because that’s what I do when I try to figure out a song and then blurted out BEN HOWARD.  I got a few strange looks from the students next to me.  Anyway I really enjoy listening to ben whenever I’m feeling chill.  This song in particular is good for just chilling out in class and thinking or sketching or reading because I find it quite relaxing. 

3.      Hungry by White Lung-

No, I’m not dreaming of lunch when I listen to this in class.  Usually, I reserve this song for when I’m working on some really intensely.  This is the type of rock that’s faster and louder than what I listen to most of the time.  The lyrics as well are ones that make you feel a certain kind of way.  Almost helpless and weak and hardcore emotional.  Really good for when you have 5 minutes to do your calculus homework. 

4.      What It Is by Made in Japan-

I discovered this band last week actually while driving through Oregon because I had gone through all my usual playlists.  So I haven’t actually had the chance to listen to this in class to tune people out, but I will say that the band is pretty awesome.  They’re very upbeat and there’s a significant amount of pedal work in their songs, similar to Two Door Cinema Club, but a little more bass.  This band is another band that’s good to listen to while working on something that you associate with happiness.  For instance, I would listen to this while drawing because both make me feel good. 

5.      Tiptoe Through the Tulips by Tiny Tim- 

Okay so I just included this song as a gag song because it is the best song ever.  It is so disturbing.  I once told my friend to listen to this song.  He thought it was hilarious and proceeded to show it to his super conservative parents.  He got grounded for “incorrectly using the internet.” In reality it was the best use of the internet ever.

6.      It’s Only a Paper Moon by Ella Fitzgerald-

Ella holds a special place in my heart.  10 out of 10, the best voice ever.  I dream of a day when people stop listening to auto tune trash and return to true musical talent.  Great song for when you’re walking in the hallway and there’s no one around so you can totally dance to your class.  Also really good for when you’re staring out the window while day dreaming in class. 

Blog 21: Ahmed

At this very moment, somewhere in the universe someone is laughing. They could be having a polite laugh with their boss, they could be rolling on the floor with laughter with their friends, or they could be snickering in the back of a classroom.

We all love to laugh. We all laugh. Laughter creates a sense of community, it unites us, it makes us appear friendly, and happy. Smiling which is a side effect of laughter happens to let some sweet endorphin's out into your system, meaning laughter makes you feel good. I mean een hanging out we've all been hanging out with some friends and then they do something that is so  incredibly stupid or clumsy or anything that everyone just bursts into laughter and eventually starting gasping for air and then laugh at how everyone else's facial expressions, and then you continue your rapid descent into chaos and a lack of breath.

Robert Hancock 23

Playlist: Feeling Melancholy
1. True Faith- New Order
A song about lost childhoods, always made me feel melancholy but I still rather like it. It is at the top of this list because of the odd, totally mismatched music video that accompanies it.
2. Tin Man- Future Islands
I love Future Islands, especially this song, the singers voice is crazy and the emotion he puts behind all of his performances is really great
3. The Fountain- Future Islands
I said I liked Future Islands didn't I? This one is has some great symbolism revolving around a relationship and  each persons motives and methods in the relationship.
4.Nights in White Satin- Moody Blues
Very pleasant song that I used to hear on the radio a lot but never learned the name of until I heard it in, and I'm sorta ashamed to admit this, Dark Shadows. That weird Tim Burton Movie( is that redundant?)
5. Mad World- Gary Jules
Pretty well known song but a good one none the less.

Blog 22-Robert Hancock

If I had to choose one character to be I would be...... someone inconspicuous, just kidding , I honestly don't know who I would want to be as I have never wanted to BE someone that I've read about but I have certainly  wanted to emulate the behavior of some characters. If I absolutely had to choose I would probably go with Frank Castle (AKA the Punisher). While he is a psychotic murderer  he is doing (relatively) good things by taking out sex traffickers and other murderers and even preventing a cold war from going hot! He gets to run about New York with a huge arsenal of weapons and keep criminals shaking in their boots. But again I think his concept is cool, but I wouldn't really want to be him.

Blog 23: Ahmed

The perfect playlist. This is far from the perfect playlist, but it's a bunch of pieces that remind me of my old orchestra.

Dragon Hunter by Richard Meyer
This song was the start of my old orchestra, and it symbolized the start of several strong friendships. An example of that is I was having difficulties playing a part of the song where we did what seemed at the time to be the quickest scale to ever be written by man. My seat partner was practically a veteran cellist, so I was extremely intimidated of him-the first time we played he played a snippet of a song just straight out of the blue, this was as I was trying to get the end-pin out- though one day we sat down and he taught me how to learn to play it. That just completely surprised me because he was extremely patient with e me.

Theme from Cannon in D by Johann Pachelbel
This song showed me the wonders of the cello. It gave me my first taste of the richness of the cello. I'd have to compare it to when you stopped scarfing chocolate down your gullet and started to taste it. It also hurt me and my seat partner's shoulders so much because of how many whole notes there were, after this song my shoulders never hurt from playing a song a again. And during the concert, me and my partner's hands got cramped up.

Me and my Cello by The Piano Guys
This is my favorite song, video, and band in the whole world. I have watched this video at least a million times(plus one, it's still got it).

Carmen Suite by George Bizet
First off I would like to point out that Suite is not pronounced Sweet it is pronounced Suit-ayy. And second I want to point out that the first five notes are the same as Secrets, but Secrets is in a different position. This song has always been graceful and majestic where Secrets was strong and emotional.

Secrets by One Republic
This song was the last song we played as an orchestra. It was our finale. I love this song. NO, I love what it means, it somehow tied off the ending of one of my favorite classes ever. I had some great times with my friends, we had our own little community of sorts there. And it ended. And as impossible as this sounds I miss that class. I miss my director, i miss my classmates, i miss the room, I miss the inside jokes, but most of all I miss my cello. Well that took an interesting turn, this song will always symbolize to me my orchestra class and the ending of it.

_________________________________________________________________________________
Check out Me and my Cello here! It's pretty darn awesome.

Thomas Winterton- Assignment 23

So pretty much my perfect playlist has to do with either dealing with self doubt or getting myself focused for a sports competition that I will be participating in. These songs build me up, make me feel good about myself while getting me excited about what I've been through or what I've accomplished.

1. Foofighters- Something from nothing
This song talks about starting an event. to start something. While it is full of rhetorical choices, the song talks about becoming something from nothing. That either you started with nothing knocked you down but you clawed your way out and survived. This really relates to certain aspects of my life and get my heart racing.

2. Halestorm- I am the fire
This song is more about building yourself up and being great with yourself, whether that is by having self confidence or pushing yourself to be better, this song gets me thinking about my unreached potential and that I can "burn brighter."

3. tech n9ne- The Beast
While this song differs from the tone of the first two songs it pretty much does one thing, and that is to get me foaming at the mouth and ready to go crazy on some unlucky dude in my way of winning. Its self confidence times 1000. Inspires swagger.

4. Disturbed- Invincible
This song is the same as the last, only while it is not as aggressive towards others. it builds the listener up, that whatever they've done. they have become "invincible" through their toils. That no matter what happens, they will still be standing by the end of the ordeal.

5. Disturbed- Sound of silence
I love this song, Favorite on the list. This song for me, locks all the excitement and hype from the first 4 songs deep inside me, While still raging, I am under control and can flip the switch to go nuts on someone and just as easily turn it off and conserve myself. This song to me, ESPECIALLY THE OPENING OMG. Reminds me of where ive come from and that while things were bad, that im here now and after hearing that, I know nobody has worked as hard as I have to bring myself back to doing what I love and that makes me feel sad at reminding myself of the physical and mental torment I've been through to get back, while making me feel absolutely amazing because I was able to come back from my tribulations and become greater.

Assignment 24: The Future

You're done!  - well almost
Your Junior year (nearly) OVER.
Tell us about it.
Successes? Failures? Lessons Learned? Risks taken? Mistakes made? What will you do in the Summer?  What do you want for your Senior year? How do you plan to reach your goals?

Minimum of 150 words - due on Sunday, April 17th at 11:59 pm

(Last day to submit blogs 24 - 26 will be May 22nd)

23 Y2K

the perfect playlist for reading the book Elantris (tried to keep all spoilers out)

1. Gloomy Clock (IU) - I don’t think that’s a very good translation of the title but the song itself is a very slow and slightly depressing number about being lazy and perfectly discontent lying in bed that perfectly captures the very slow beginning of the novel (and the fact that I’m projected to wait four years until the sequel comes out)

2. Demons (Imagine Dragons) - This song epitomizes the condition of one of the main characters. He was a prince, is now an exile, and is living out his life as what some perceive as a literal demon (or at least a freak of nature) in the grimy city of Elantris. Describes the plight of the other Elantrians and his relationship with another main character pretty well. The beat begins the escalation of the book’s plot.

3. The third story (leessang) Sarene is a very independent person and she’s sort of famous in the Arelene court now after playing the king around. This song depicts her struggles of actually doing something meaningful despite her insecurity. (Or even Hrathen’s insecurity about Jaddeth, etc) Also one of my favorite Korean raps, it comes at a time when the plot is slowing down a bit and the tension is more character based than action.

4. Ready Aim Fire (Imagine dragons) More imagine dragons! This is the part when the climax is ascending and things are happening with Telrii and the Daork Monastery and Iadon’s mysterious religious tendencies that lead to…battle! Although the ready aim fire bit is not of this world, the background rhythm mimics the heartbeat and stress of conflict as you flip the rest of the pages to see how the story ends…

5. On Top of the World (Imagine Dragons) A lot of imagine dragons here but I think it’s appropriate. Raoden and Sarene are celebrating, the peppy tune definitely lends itself to a celebratory atmosphere (can’t tell any spoilers can I? But I can say Hrathen is, too, in a way)

(If any of the plot/structure of Elantris is not actual factual stuff I’m sorry)

Thomas Winterton- Assignment 22

If I could be any fictional character I've read or heard about, I would choose to be batman. Pretty basic right? Hear me out though, Batman is arguably one of the smartest individuals in the world, at the peak of human physical capabilities. He also has done a lot of extremely bada** stuff. for example, Batman has nearly killed Superman, a dude who many consider invincible, a mere man who made a god bleed. He killed Darkseid, literally the one dude who Superman cant kill. He has a bunch of awesome gadgets and vehicles, including a suit of armor that feeds off his metabolism to make Batman capable of standing toe to toe physically with beings on par with Wonder Woman. He went to apokolips (DC comics equivalent of Hell,) to save his son. He is a mere man that has pushed himself to perfection and does the impossible. While people rant about hope is Superman's gig, Batman shows people what a man is capable of when pushed to the limits.

Aditi lohe Blog #23

Playlist
1. I took a pill in Ibiza by Mike Posner
2. Don't let me down by Chainsmokers
3. I wanna get better by Bleachers
4. Cheap thrills by Sia
5. Firestorm by Kygo
I chose all of these songs above to be part of a "Dance like no one's watching" playlist (I know it's sorta cheesy but I honestly don't really like sharing my music with people so I just put a bunch of hype songs in). They all have very simple choruses that are easy to sing along with and are catchy. These songs help to get one moving around and singing. Each of them have a very unique tune from each other but all are still upbeat. I chose these songs because they really do a great job in waking someone up and making them want to jump around. For instance, song 1, 2, and 3 have very simple choruses that are loud and easy to sing. All of these songs possess an awesome beat. Whenever I listen to them, I always end up dancing because they set a great mood.

assignment 21- Thomas Winterton

Some where in the universe right now, there is another version of myself writing his blog posts the night before they are due like a total punk. That version of me was busy being a procrastinator, enjoying spring break and not paying attention to his GM to see that plenty of people has warned each other about them impending deadline that is blog posts. This version of me is probably not identical to me in every way, but at first glimpse we would look like twins. The sheer magnitude of the universe insures that even considering the most infantismal chance of other life forms evolving to sentience being slim. the size of the universe makes it slightly possible that given the incalculable size of the universe, there will be other life forms. Other life forms like us. Even other lifeforms that live similar lives to us. A supposed doppelganger of sorts is even possible given the sheer size of the universe. While this sounds totally preposterous, if the theorized size of the universe even proves close to being correct, the CHANCE of my other earth self, could be real.

Blog Post 23: Isabel Bandoroff

This is the perfect playlist to listen to when you're sad, but it won't make you happy. It will make you even more sad.. so you have to kind of want to get absorbed in your sadness.
1. The World At Large - Modest Mouse. "If the world's at large, why should I remain" This song actually puts things in perspective. It's about going with the flow and carrying on through life. So many things are happening around us and to us, sometimes we may need to take a moment to realize that the world is larger than ourselves. It instills some hope to the sadness.
2. Four Walls - Broods. I don't even know how to describe this song, you just have to listen to it. It'll put you in the feels real quick and it's wonderful. It just shows the desperation and sadness of life/love.
3. New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down - LCD Soundsystem. When I listen to this song, I feel like I am walking on the streets of New York City, it is powerful. "New York, you're perfect oh please don't change a thing." This is an odd thing to say in a sad song about a city that brings you down and freaks you out. Maybe it's sarcasm but it really perplexes me. Anyways it's long so you get really absorbed in it and it's sad.
4. All We Do - Oh Wonder. I think the instruments and actual music in this song play a huge role in it's powerfulness. Even without words, I think it could still bring me to tears. But, the lyrics are there and they do depress. This song speaks about the human condition, or maybe just two people. You have to listen to it, it is moving and repetitive and heart breaking.
5. Love in the Dark - Adele. This song is perfect for heart break. It shows the complexity of love and relationships, love isn't enough and it is very circumstantial. Sometimes you have to make the hard decisions and do what is best for your future - even if it hurts. This song is just depressing and heart breaking af and it's great if you need a good cry about your love life.

Blog 22: Ahmed

This is a tough one. The first things that came to my mind were the stereotypical people, you know? People that had unbelievable powers or an amazing world. The first people to come to mind were: Percy Jackson,  Peter Petrelli, Number 4, Oliver Queen, Josh Newman, Robert Downing Jr.- I'll stop there. Who are these people? A guy with some seriously messed up family, another guy with the same problem, another that is an unwanted refugee to earth who endangered species is being hunted to extinction, a guy that spent "five years in hell" and with a whole slew of strange people, a person/god/other that will have to either kill his parents(I think? It's been a while) or he'll battle his twin sister in this crazy death match to end all of reality. Ahh... and the last, this guy had some daddy issues, he is super rich, super smart, and has flippin' Iron Man suits. Now what did all these people have in common ? They all had some major bad voodoo in their lives, which meant they were off the list. Though than I thought about it, I was thinking what kind of fictitious character did I want to be? Did I want to be like Norman and live an extraordinarily mundane life? NO, so I decided I needed a delicate balance between mundane and super, what I needed to be was a character that lives a nice life without the dark backstory. I knew what I had to do. I had to become Spider-Pig.

Andrew Reese Assignment 23

This is a playlist meant not just for hype, but the kind of hype that you can physically feel, the kind that burns itself deep within your soul that makes every other day of your life better, knowing that the kind of hype you experienced is even possible.

1. No Brand Girls by μ's (pronounced as "Muse") 
This song might be a little girly compared to all of the others, but that's part of the reason I put it first. This song cheers me up from pretty much any emotional state and not only makes me excited, but it also makes me want to be more excited by virtue of its unrelenting joy.
2. Rising World mashup by Triple Q, other credits in the video description.
This one has the instrumental done by the group from the last one, so it has kind of the same lighthearted feeling there, but the lyrics by various groups that worked on the Metal Gear Rising add a certain weight to it. Phrases like "a predator on the on the verge of death" and "a soul can't be cut" sound heavy or dark in most contexts, but here, they just sound cool and exciting.
3.I May Fall composed by Jeff Williams, vocals by Jeff Williams and Casey Lee Williams
This track I thought more about the lyrics than the other ones because now I want to focus more on getting exciting ideas into my head, because at this point, I'm thinking about hype thing happening from the previous song. I can also focus more on the lyrics because by this point 8 minutes have passed The song is about standing tall in the face of a threat, which is about the most hype activity I can think about.
(Spoilers for Undertale in #4)
4.Hopes and Dreams/Save the World by Toby Fox
This song mixes both a weighty, important sound and an incredibly uplifting overall feeling to make a song that says "You can do the impossible." It also makes me think of the amazing final boss of Undertale, and thus about doing the impossible with the power of mercy and determination. Like I May Fall, it makes me think about standing tall in the face of a threat, but the uplifting sound makes me think of a threat that I will defeat, whereas the last on just made me think of standing up to one.
5.  Sorairo Days by Shoko Nakagawa
This one relies even more on context than the last one, but that context is the greatest story ever told (to me). Also like the last one, it makes me think about doing the impossible, even if it requires sacrifice, restraint, or suffering, but the result is a drive to do something great not because I want to, but because I NEED to, otherwise I've failed to live up to this amazing song and the story I associate it with.

22 Blue Y2K

I think I would be Blue from the Raven Boys Cycle. These books are a work of art and helped me realize what a work of art is. Personally they’re brilliant. So is Blue, who is normal and sensible and a fanciful sort of girl (contradictory a bit) who doesn’t care what other people think of her. But she is also part of a psychic family (she only has the power to magnify these psychic abilities) and is thrown into the world of Irish mythology (I think). She is unafraid and honest and personable, creative and determined. Also, she is best friends with three raven boys (hence the title of the series) and I absolutely love their friendship. Perhaps it’s Maggie Stiefvater’s writing that persuaded me to love Blue this much and maybe I’m just grasping at straws and later I will think of a brilliant character that I’d much rather be but it’s too late for that.

Allie Gregory Post #23

       My below-listed playlist is perfect in its own right, though not in a way I expect most people to have the proper respect for. My dad doesn't usually like to listen to music when we're driving, but on rare occasions he can be convinced. He drives a big grey truck with an insane sound system, and sometimes my family will engage in what we like to call "jam sessions." Windows down, music rather loud, and an incredibly selection of perfectly lame songs. As follows:

1. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish - this song is ridiculous. It's the opening theme for the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie, and in the movie it is sung by a choir of dolphins. It's so much fun to sing, because it's so perfectly inane.

2. Shell Shocked - this is almost a real jam song. Well... Sorta. It's got a rap and it's pretty intense but it also is from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Movie, so... It's fun. I like it.

3. Man or Muppet - this is the first emotional song of the bunch. It is a song of internal conflict. You can correctly assume from the title that it's from the Muppet movie and, as such, no it's not serious. But it's excessively dramatic and really what's better than that?

4. Home Sweet Home - first legit song. Ha, I have an almost normal side. This is a rock song, but it's slow and smooth and actually totally still jammable. It's perfect for the near conclusion of an evening, as these jam sessions typically are.

5. Rainbow Connection - honestly I just love this song. The others are fun, and I'll get pumped singing them with my family, but this song, also from the Muppets, is really beautiful to me. It's about dreamers and I find it sweet and inspiring. It really is perfect. 

       Are these songs that I listen to when I'm at home doing homework or driving around in my car by myself? No, not really. I do listen to normal music sometimes. But these songs are still near and dear to my heart because they're fun and I've certainly enjoyed them. They personify my quirky family quite nicely.

Post 22 Thomas Werner

Out of all the fictional characters there are out there, if i had to choose one to be I would choose Luffy the Straw Hat Pirate. The guy is amazing. He’s the greatest pirate to ever live. He gets to hang out with his cool crew all day, sail the coolest oceans all day, and do fun pirate stuff all day. He also has to fight really tough bad guys, but that is part of being a pirate and I accept that fully. He can also stretch. His body is literally made of rubber because he ate a magical fruit as a child. That would be fun as heck. He can suck in cannonballs and launch them back at enemies, turn his body into a slingshot, fall and jump large distances, pack a whopper of a punch, and more. On top of all this, he’s on track to find the greatest treasure in the world.

Allie Gregory Post #22

       I'm generally unskilled at decision-making, and in accordance with that pattern I had a difficult time deciding on this prompt. I like so many characters, but some of them have sucky back stories and others don't have cool enough universes. That being said, I went with Annabeth Chase from the Percy Jackson books (not the movies, we're ignoring those). Her backstory isn't the greatest, because her mom is the goddess Athena and her stepmom couldn't handle this, and therefore she was on her own after age seven. But then she got to go live full time at camp half blood which is rather epic. She got to train with swords and bows and is an expert with a dagger. She's strong and brave, and incredibly witty. Best of all though is that her life is an adventure. She literally saved the world multiple times over. She saved her friends and is a hero, through and through. Not to mention she's freakishly smart and I'd quite like to be her. 

       Also, Percy Jackson is the perfect boyfriend. Just saying.