I've never read a "farewell post," so I'm not really sure what one is supposed to look like. In fact, I'm not even really sure if a "farewell post" a real thing. Well, I'm writing one now, so... if it wasn't a real thing before, it is now. Here goes...
If I wasn't required to blog for my English class this year, I probably would have never started, but now, I'm stuck in the blogosphere. I write, I follow, and I even comment from time to time. It's May, so I'm about to take a nice, relaxing blog-cation, but before I depart, I want to make sure that you know me well as a blogger. So, because it's my favorite thing to do... here are some LISTS:
Five Favorite Blogs (in no particular order)
1. Smitten Kitchen - interesting recipes, and beautiful pictures of food
2. Grilled Cheese Social - Just like Smitten Kitchen, but only grilled cheese sandwiches
(can you tell I'm a huge foodie yet?)
3. The MindBlog - It's neuroscience, but in the most interesting, easy-to-understand way possible.
4. Playbill - OKAY, it's not really a blog, but thanks to Google Reader I always get great little newsflashes or fun facts when I check it.
5. The Disney Blog - 'Nuff said.
Five Most Valuable Blogging Lessons
(greatly in part due to Liz Strauss and her Blogspertise [Blogs. Expertise. Get it?])
1. Links are everybody's friend. A blog that never links to other blogs or sources is a dead end. It has nowhere to go, and will probably not be linked or referenced often because it does nothing for the networked blogging community. Don't be afraid to link often. You'll lose nothing; it can only help you.
2. Cool-looking blogs are cooler in general. I love posts that include photography, pictures, diagrams, etc, and when blogs are visually unique (no templates) and easy to navigate with the eye, they make me want to read them.
3. Make sure your blog represents your voice. If you can picture the blogger physically saying what he or she has posted, it makes the blog so much more readable.
4. When blogs have a clear theme, when all the posts connect to some common interest, such as technology or music or eating or Japan, it ups the "followable" factor incredibly.
5. Talking. Real talking. Yeah, bloggers are real people who communicate with other real people in the real world. They live beyond their blogs. Sometimes, learning about exciting new blogs happens off the computer. This is definitely true for me.
Four Things I Still Need to Work on:
1. Draft more. I tend to crank out a whole post in one sitting, and I probably should proofread or outline a little more (THIS post WAS proofread... yay me)
2. Try to get readers. Usually I never get around to publicizing my posts on REddit or Facebook, but it's reallt not that hard.
3. My theme. If I ever get back into blogging, I need an over-arching idea that holds my posts together, because this time around, it didn't quite happen.
4. Returning the favor. Maybe the reason I don't have more readers is because I have terrible blog karma. I read plenty of posts but rarely comment...
Finally...
Seven Songs I Will Be Listening to All Summer (you should, too):
1. Sweet Pea
2. Someone You'd Admire
3. Sleep the Clock Around
4. Blue Skies
5. This Bed
6. Lux Aurumque
7. Sweet Talk Sweet Talk
...okay one more...
Have a fantastic summer, and thanks for reading!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Silence
Ever heard of Day of Silence? Today, my school honored it, and I participated for my fourth year in a row... and it was great! For the first year ever, nobody demanded me to defend my silence, and nobody started playing see-how-annoying-I-have-to-be-to-get-Melanie-to-talk! The high respect for this year's Day of Silence put me in a really good mood.
Now, it's probably because I had a free period where I spent a good hour "studying" by myself, but I also reflected on why I was silent this year more than I have ever before, and I wanted to share some of my thoughts.
And now, "a few things that I thought about because I had a lot of quiet time to myself because I couldn't hold a real conversation with anyone because I was silent today" or...
"Eight Silent Thoughts"
1. Three other people in my Academy class were silent, and during Social Studies, we all had someone read "statements" giving our reasons for participating in Day of Silence. Their statements were touching and articulate, and I want to give them a shout-out... so, uh... Woohooshoutout!
2. I remembered the people who first asked me to participate in Day of Silence my freshman year. I am so grateful to you for getting me involved.
3. I was wearing my old Day of Silence shirt (from 2008), which does not look like the 2011 edition at all. I would like to acknowledge all the people who asked me, "Why is your shirt different?" and proceeded to wait for a response. You guys are so entertaining...
4. I admired my wonderful friends who have not allowed intolerance or ignorance to inhibit them from being exactly who they were meant to be.
5. I prayed for the people I know who aren't as fearless in the face of prejudice.
6. I won't name names, but my first Day of Silence, a certain someone saw my shirt and said something along the lines of "That's so gay. I bet I can get you to talk." Today, he saw it and reacted with a "You haven't said a word all day? That's really great." Thank you for growing up :)
7. Finally, I reflected on all the hate, stupidity, and homophobia I still see. As much as I like to think that I surround myself with tolerance, I have to admit that there are people I know and love who just don't get that "gay" is not a synonym for "stupid." And, in most cases, I don't want to speak up when I hear someone I'm close with rattle off some unacceptable phrases because I don't want the conflict.
8. #7 is a disgusting truth. I have a choice, so I'm making a resolution to no longer "let it slide."
Song Recommendation: "The Painter" by I'm from Barcelona
Monday, April 11, 2011
The Thaw
In English we've been talking ecocritical. We recently had to reflect on our relationship with nature. At the time, my relationship with nature was going through a rough patch. April was windy and cloudy and forty or fifty degrees, which is completely unfair after one glorious week of sunny seventies in mid-March. Thus, in my reflection, I had decided that I was not very close with nature.
But wait! Yesterday, after my silk training (*cough*shamelesspromotion*cough*goseeCHICAGO*cough*) yesterday, I noticed that it was in the high seventies; It was sunny; It was breezy. I went for a short walk outside before driving home, and even after the thirty-minute drive back home and the lunch I ate indoors, I went back out to my yard to relax (instead of hide in my air-conditioned house like I normally would). Now, my relationship with nature is in a honeymoon period. The weather is being very good to me, so it's easier for me to love the weather.
In our class discussion of relationships with nature, I figured out that I'm not driven away from nature out of fear of giant animals or fear of dangerous people hiding in the landscape. Instead, my biggest problem is adverse weather... specifically... the cold (i lived in 95-degree, sunny, humid, muggy Italy for three weeks this summer and it honestly hardly bothered me!). If my feelings toward nature strongly depend on the temperature, then where does my role with the great outdoors stand? I believe that I'm not the only one who has a constantly morphing, fluctuating relationship with nature. I bet yours changes frequently, too. What's the factor that affects how you feel toward nature? Weather? Terrain? Bugs?
Finally... earthy song recommendations... it's almost Earth Day, and I think there's no better way to celebrate (anything, not just Earth Day) than with a lovely playlist. Enjoy!
•"Down to Earth" by Peter Gabriel
•"Sprout and the Bean" by Joanna Newsom
•"Woods" by Bon Iver
•"Thistled Spring" by Horse Feathers
(if you have song recommendations, GIVE THEM TO ME =] !!)
But wait! Yesterday, after my silk training (*cough*shamelesspromotion*cough*goseeCHICAGO*cough*) yesterday, I noticed that it was in the high seventies; It was sunny; It was breezy. I went for a short walk outside before driving home, and even after the thirty-minute drive back home and the lunch I ate indoors, I went back out to my yard to relax (instead of hide in my air-conditioned house like I normally would). Now, my relationship with nature is in a honeymoon period. The weather is being very good to me, so it's easier for me to love the weather.
In our class discussion of relationships with nature, I figured out that I'm not driven away from nature out of fear of giant animals or fear of dangerous people hiding in the landscape. Instead, my biggest problem is adverse weather... specifically... the cold (i lived in 95-degree, sunny, humid, muggy Italy for three weeks this summer and it honestly hardly bothered me!). If my feelings toward nature strongly depend on the temperature, then where does my role with the great outdoors stand? I believe that I'm not the only one who has a constantly morphing, fluctuating relationship with nature. I bet yours changes frequently, too. What's the factor that affects how you feel toward nature? Weather? Terrain? Bugs?
Finally... earthy song recommendations... it's almost Earth Day, and I think there's no better way to celebrate (anything, not just Earth Day) than with a lovely playlist. Enjoy!
•"Down to Earth" by Peter Gabriel
•"Sprout and the Bean" by Joanna Newsom
•"Woods" by Bon Iver
•"Thistled Spring" by Horse Feathers
(if you have song recommendations, GIVE THEM TO ME =] !!)
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Hope is My Philosophy
I will love you more than me and more than yesterday.
If you can but prove to me, you are the new day.
Sounds like a pretty straightforward love song, right? The audience is the speaker's beloved, and all the speaker has to say is, "Hey, I love you."
Thoughts that we as humans small could slow worlds and end it all
Lie around me where they fall, before the new day.
That's from the exact same song. So now you probably think I've got it all wrong. Honestly, I'm not sure...
Express just combined with the lovely Chamber Ensemble of Glenbrook South at the Techny Concert, (for anyone who cares, we worked on FANTASTIC SONGS this year) and we sang John David's "You Are the New Day." When we first received the music, our choir director told us that he honestly didn't know what the song meant. After spending more and more time on it, I began to realize that the meaning is so much more complex than just a simple love song. Our guest conductor, Mrs. Moe, told us that it's very likely that each person who knows this song will find different meaning in it. She told us her interpretation, and one of the members of our choir also shared her ideas. I, too, began to find meaning in this song.
The different (extremely abridged) interpretations:
•The speaker is loves his or her live, even knowing that humans are small and powerless.
•This is a proclamation of love to another person. The speaker feels that nothing else matters beside spending a whole lifetime with the person he or she loves.
To me, this song is a surge of gratitude. Some lyrics are frightening: "When I lay me down at night, knowing we must pay," and "We... could slow worlds and end it all," and "One more day when time is running out," and they make me think about how finite and fragile our lives are. Even so, the speaker loves the life he or she has had, and realizes that although his or her only power is to hope for more days, that's enough, because just being able to continue living is what the speaker desires.
I'm mildly obsessed with this song.
So, here are the lyrics, and here is the best version I could find on YouTube. I want you to experience this beautiful piece, and tell me what it means to you.
Thank you!
If you can but prove to me, you are the new day.
Sounds like a pretty straightforward love song, right? The audience is the speaker's beloved, and all the speaker has to say is, "Hey, I love you."
Thoughts that we as humans small could slow worlds and end it all
Lie around me where they fall, before the new day.
That's from the exact same song. So now you probably think I've got it all wrong. Honestly, I'm not sure...
Express just combined with the lovely Chamber Ensemble of Glenbrook South at the Techny Concert, (for anyone who cares, we worked on FANTASTIC SONGS this year) and we sang John David's "You Are the New Day." When we first received the music, our choir director told us that he honestly didn't know what the song meant. After spending more and more time on it, I began to realize that the meaning is so much more complex than just a simple love song. Our guest conductor, Mrs. Moe, told us that it's very likely that each person who knows this song will find different meaning in it. She told us her interpretation, and one of the members of our choir also shared her ideas. I, too, began to find meaning in this song.
The different (extremely abridged) interpretations:
•The speaker is loves his or her live, even knowing that humans are small and powerless.
•This is a proclamation of love to another person. The speaker feels that nothing else matters beside spending a whole lifetime with the person he or she loves.
To me, this song is a surge of gratitude. Some lyrics are frightening: "When I lay me down at night, knowing we must pay," and "We... could slow worlds and end it all," and "One more day when time is running out," and they make me think about how finite and fragile our lives are. Even so, the speaker loves the life he or she has had, and realizes that although his or her only power is to hope for more days, that's enough, because just being able to continue living is what the speaker desires.
I'm mildly obsessed with this song.
So, here are the lyrics, and here is the best version I could find on YouTube. I want you to experience this beautiful piece, and tell me what it means to you.
Thank you!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Art.
I just finished reading Shakespeare's Hamlet.
THAT is a work of art.
However, I also watched (most of) The Fellowship of the Ring last night at a friend's house. (except for the thirty minutes in the middle where I fell asleep. NOT MY FAULT! He put on the extended edition), and I consider that, too, is a work of art.
They're both classic works of literature, yes, but the makeup, costumes, sets, special effects, cinematography, and score in the Fellowship of the Ring contribute just as much to its "art" status as the script. Similarly, the lighting, staging, and acting (among other components) bring Hamlet to life as a play and, yes, give it artistic value.
So, film and theatre qualify as art. Okay, painting, photography, sculpture, and music are all "art," too, right? But wait...
What are the limits to what can be considered "art?" Is every poem, painting, drawing, or photo a work of art? Is every song a work of art? I'm pretty sure this piece qualifies as art, but I have reservations about calling this one "art." Then there are unconventional forms of expression that some people may or may not artistically value, like interior decorating, dance, cooking, or even makeup.
So, what am I deciding? To the artist, if you have the creativity to express something unique or beautiful or unsettling or just interesting, your art can come in . To the beholder, you can decide what is or is not art. This means that there will always be conflicts, because not everyone sees the same way.
How would you define art? And, with that much said, what are some of your favorite works of art? Please share :)
THAT is a work of art.
However, I also watched (most of) The Fellowship of the Ring last night at a friend's house. (except for the thirty minutes in the middle where I fell asleep. NOT MY FAULT! He put on the extended edition), and I consider that, too, is a work of art.
They're both classic works of literature, yes, but the makeup, costumes, sets, special effects, cinematography, and score in the Fellowship of the Ring contribute just as much to its "art" status as the script. Similarly, the lighting, staging, and acting (among other components) bring Hamlet to life as a play and, yes, give it artistic value.
So, film and theatre qualify as art. Okay, painting, photography, sculpture, and music are all "art," too, right? But wait...
What are the limits to what can be considered "art?" Is every poem, painting, drawing, or photo a work of art? Is every song a work of art? I'm pretty sure this piece qualifies as art, but I have reservations about calling this one "art." Then there are unconventional forms of expression that some people may or may not artistically value, like interior decorating, dance, cooking, or even makeup.
So, what am I deciding? To the artist, if you have the creativity to express something unique or beautiful or unsettling or just interesting, your art can come in . To the beholder, you can decide what is or is not art. This means that there will always be conflicts, because not everyone sees the same way.
How would you define art? And, with that much said, what are some of your favorite works of art? Please share :)
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Understanding Gertrude (Plus, a Musical Study Guide!)
In English we've been reading Hamlet, but we've also been analyzing scenes from different critical approaches. It's eye-opening. We see that certain lines can mean different things, or certain characters can serve entirely different purposes depending on what perspective you take when reading Hamlet. In a previous post, I wondered what makes Hamlet such an influential piece, and I think this is it. This play can be taken a thousand ways.
Rather than just assume you'll believe me saying "You can look at Hamlet from so many perspectives" over and over again, I'm gonna prove it to you. Here's the case of Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, from just a few approaches:
1. The Feminist Approach: Gertrude's okay! Feminists could argue that Gertrude is innocent because there is no concrete text that proves Gertrude knew that Claudius was her husband's killer. She may have married Claudius only as a way to keep herself close to power and able to continue to serve her kingdom.
2. The Mythical Approach: Gertrude is a bad mother. She betrayed her son, Hamlet, by marrying Claudius. She also represents an archetype of an evil woman: sensuous, eager to stay close to power, incestuous, and unfaithful.
3. The Psychoanalytic Approach: Ever heard of an Oedipus complex? Hamlet could have tamed his animosity toward his father for having Gertrude, but when his father dies and Claudius takes her hand, Hamlet gets all worked up again. His hatred for Claudius is fed by the fact that someone besides Hamlet Junior or Senior (in the prince's mind, the only two people he could accept being with Gertrude), married Gertrude.
Believe me now? Hamlet's mother could be an unfaithful and selfish mother, an innocent and responsible woman, or a character to show off Hamlet's psychological problems, all depending on what approach you take when reading Hamlet. What other approaches could you take when reading this play, and how would Gertrude's role in the story change?
SONG RECOMMENDATION: Hey There, Ophelia by MC Lars. Who needs SparkNotes when you can just listen to a 4-minute rap summary? (I wouldn't call it the finest piece of audial artwork, but it is entertaining.) Enjoy :)
Rather than just assume you'll believe me saying "You can look at Hamlet from so many perspectives" over and over again, I'm gonna prove it to you. Here's the case of Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, from just a few approaches:
1. The Feminist Approach: Gertrude's okay! Feminists could argue that Gertrude is innocent because there is no concrete text that proves Gertrude knew that Claudius was her husband's killer. She may have married Claudius only as a way to keep herself close to power and able to continue to serve her kingdom.
2. The Mythical Approach: Gertrude is a bad mother. She betrayed her son, Hamlet, by marrying Claudius. She also represents an archetype of an evil woman: sensuous, eager to stay close to power, incestuous, and unfaithful.
3. The Psychoanalytic Approach: Ever heard of an Oedipus complex? Hamlet could have tamed his animosity toward his father for having Gertrude, but when his father dies and Claudius takes her hand, Hamlet gets all worked up again. His hatred for Claudius is fed by the fact that someone besides Hamlet Junior or Senior (in the prince's mind, the only two people he could accept being with Gertrude), married Gertrude.
Believe me now? Hamlet's mother could be an unfaithful and selfish mother, an innocent and responsible woman, or a character to show off Hamlet's psychological problems, all depending on what approach you take when reading Hamlet. What other approaches could you take when reading this play, and how would Gertrude's role in the story change?
SONG RECOMMENDATION: Hey There, Ophelia by MC Lars. Who needs SparkNotes when you can just listen to a 4-minute rap summary? (I wouldn't call it the finest piece of audial artwork, but it is entertaining.) Enjoy :)
Monday, February 14, 2011
Happy Valentine's Day!
I got home an hour ago, and I'm still in Valentine overdrive. Things that have made me smile today:
1. Poems. Not just anyone can crank out a Shakespeare-caliber sonnet, but my friends in AP Statistics can really show their love in sweet couplets:
Snowflakes are white, but slush is just grey.
I hope that you'll be my Valentine today!
Roses are red. Violets are blue.
This class is so hard. I don't have a clue.
Sudafed, Claritin, Crack, Tylenol...
Your love is the drug that I need most of all.
Roses are red. Violets are purple.
Not blue...
Needless to say, this was a productive class today.
2. Food. Baking food. I bake ALL the time. I just made these for a party tomorrow. However, I'm quite partial to blondies, maybe because I'm, well, blonde, but also because they are so easy to make, and so easy that I can make any variations (banana blondies>banana bread). And yesterday I was baking for a while, too (but I can't say WHAT I was baking because that would spoil a surprise for someone who might read this post.)
3. Songs. In honor of it being Valentine's Day, here are some of my favorite LOVE songs:
•Make You Feel My Love. Yes, I know it was originally Bob Dylan's, but Adele sings it soOoOo beautifully
•Whistle for the Choir. It just makes me smile.
•This is what my choir does for Singing Valentines. I was serenaded with it my freshman year, and today I led my group around the school singing to other people :).
•I know the French Edith Piaf version is the classic, but you canNOT tell me this rendition isn't good.
4. My AP Psychology homework. I have to write something nice about each person in my class. Tomorrow everyone gives their compliments (typed on pieces of paper) anonymously.
5. Reading for fun. I'm in Group Interpretation again! This year we're doing Coraline, so I'm reading the book again, even though I know the story, even though I've seen the movie and received the script, because I want to!
6. Recommendations. PLEASE. Give me some poems, songs, recipes, or book titles that have made you smile. Happy Valentine's Day!
1. Poems. Not just anyone can crank out a Shakespeare-caliber sonnet, but my friends in AP Statistics can really show their love in sweet couplets:
Snowflakes are white, but slush is just grey.
I hope that you'll be my Valentine today!
Roses are red. Violets are blue.
This class is so hard. I don't have a clue.
Sudafed, Claritin, Crack, Tylenol...
Your love is the drug that I need most of all.
Roses are red. Violets are purple.
Not blue...
Needless to say, this was a productive class today.
2. Food. Baking food. I bake ALL the time. I just made these for a party tomorrow. However, I'm quite partial to blondies, maybe because I'm, well, blonde, but also because they are so easy to make, and so easy that I can make any variations (banana blondies>banana bread). And yesterday I was baking for a while, too (but I can't say WHAT I was baking because that would spoil a surprise for someone who might read this post.)
3. Songs. In honor of it being Valentine's Day, here are some of my favorite LOVE songs:
•Make You Feel My Love. Yes, I know it was originally Bob Dylan's, but Adele sings it soOoOo beautifully
•Whistle for the Choir. It just makes me smile.
•This is what my choir does for Singing Valentines. I was serenaded with it my freshman year, and today I led my group around the school singing to other people :).
•I know the French Edith Piaf version is the classic, but you canNOT tell me this rendition isn't good.
4. My AP Psychology homework. I have to write something nice about each person in my class. Tomorrow everyone gives their compliments (typed on pieces of paper) anonymously.
5. Reading for fun. I'm in Group Interpretation again! This year we're doing Coraline, so I'm reading the book again, even though I know the story, even though I've seen the movie and received the script, because I want to!
6. Recommendations. PLEASE. Give me some poems, songs, recipes, or book titles that have made you smile. Happy Valentine's Day!
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