Sunday, September 27, 2015

3 Reasons to Be in Marching Band

        I've been in the Kennedy Marching Band for three years, and I've had a very good time in it.  There are many reasons to be in marching band, but I'm going to list the top three.
        First, you make lots of good friends that you see everyday.  Over the week long band camp in August you click with people who are friendly and interesting.  We all bond through the difficult and grueling work of learning to march and learning drill and music.  Throughout the normal week in the fall you see them three hours at least once a week for night practice, and at least once a day for band class first hour.  Competitions also bring camaraderie with late nights, long bus rides, and early mornings.
        Second, you get to play good music that is challenging and fun to play.  In the last three years we've played music from the musical Alice in Wonderland, Doctor Who (the television show), and the musical Jekyl and Hyde.  Generally, shared aspects of the shows include a fast paced opener, a slow, elegant, and beautiful ballad, and a powerful closer.
        Third, marching band, allow not quite as physically strenuous as being in a Drum and Bugle Corps, still provides excellent physical and mental exercise.  Playing and marching is a unique form of exercise because of both the requirements of your mind to memorize music and keep the proper beat, as well as the physical demands of marching at 160 beats a minute which is similar to a fast jog.          So, if you happen to be in band, consider a marching band in the fall for the benefits of friends, playing good music, and physical and mental health.


Saturday, September 26, 2015

Lessons I've Learned Watching M*A*S*H

    The television show "M*A*S*H" has been over for several decades, but it still holds several lessons about how to live life today.  M*A*S*H takes place during the Korean War in the 1950s, and it stands for Mobile Army Service Hospital which were used to treat injured service people nearer to the front lines to get them treated faster than sending them to actual hospitals.  The series ran for 11 seasons, including a movie, which was much longer than the actual war.  The show centers around the doctors who were drafted for the purpose of surgery during the war, and how they interact with the regular army recruits, officers, nurses, and the local Koreans.
     One lesson I've learned from the show is that the more terrible a situation is the more you have to create your own fun.  For instance, doctors Hawkeye Pierce and B.J. Hunnicutt wear Hawaiian shirts and bathrobes to roll call and other times when they don't have to be "official."  It shows how they didn't care about the restrictions of army regulations and chose to wear something "crazy."  They also found any opportunity to play jokes and throw parties to celebrate life.
     Another life lesson is how no matter how badly you don't want to be somewhere, you still need to work as hard as you can to help others and do the job.  Although the doctors hate the revolting conditions of the war and the regular army implacable higher-ups, they still treat the patients with kindness and high quality surgery and best care.
      Next time you have a break, watch M*A*S*H; you won't regret it.

Friday, September 25, 2015

The History of America through music (19th century to 1980s)

        It's funny how music and America are connected. Music has been present throughout America's history in the 19th, 20th, and 21st century. Whether it be in peacetime, wartime, high times, or hard, music has always represented the "mood" or state of being of America.

        Songs have a special power to express what words alone cannot: hopes, fears, dreams, love, hate, anger, pride, aspirations, and disappointments. And because songs span the breadth of human experience, they are able to better communicate across time and space (than any other form of record or media) the beliefs and ideas held by their composers, performers, listeners and society in general.

        The Star Spangled Banner, for instance, was inspired by the sight of the American flag flying over Fort McHenry the night and morning after the bombardment of the said fort. The music and lyrics were written by Francis Scott Key and distributed through several Baltimore newspapers, and eventually ended up being our national anthem in 1931 (although there are several newer alternates such as James Brown's funk hit I Got You (I Feel Good) with it's brass heavy arrangement and solo by Maceo Parker. "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins because it was featured in "Top Gun", one of the most American movies ever made, and because it's iconic. "Anyway You Want It," by Journey, "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor, and "Take on Me" by ah-ha. All of these songs are uniquely American through their expression of our values/other quirks).

     The 19th century was filled with Civil War and military marches composed namely by John Philip Sousa, Henry Fillmore, and Karl King. Soul and gospel music, or Spirituals, inspired by the 2nd Awakening, arose from the work songs of enslaved African-Americans, some of which were coded messages to signal resistance or escape. The end of this era also included the popularization of other forms of African-American music, e.g. ragtime, jazz, blues, gospel, and barbershop quartets(US barbershops were social gathering places and quartets developed from African-American men harmonizing while waiting their turn, vocalizing in spirituals, folk songs and popular songs). This continued and expanded from the end of the Civil War and the release of all slaves, who filtered into society and brought their culture with them. By the 1890's their musical traditions (which had their roots in slavery) had proliferated into several forms of music, including blues and jazz.   At the end of the 19th century, African American music was mainstream, despite the lack of acceptance from the classical crowd. By this time, this type of music had become rooted in America's identity. Heck, this was and still is America's music.

        In the 20th century, outgrowths such as swing and gospel became very popular. During WWI, there were many war-related songs written and produced, at first to drum up support and to make people want to join, and then, after several months and an increasing death toll, songs such as "When the Boys Come Home" and "Keep the Home Fires Burning" expressed a want for the soldiers to return. After the war, during the "roaring 20's", jazz became popular, especially among younger white Americans. As with many new forms of music and culture, jazz was blamed for the "moral degeneracy" of these young people who listened to the music. During the 30's and the Great Depression, gospel music became popular, but its popularity didn't come close to the popularity of big band and swing music. Between 1935 and 1946 was when big band swing music reached its peak and was the most popular music in America. The off-beat rhythm and danceable style of big band swing, developed by bandleaders such as Benny Goodman, helped it become the most popular music during the end of the Depression and through World War II. Many famous musicans came out of this period, including but not limited to Louis Armstrong ,Glenn Miller, Frank Sinatra, Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman, and several others. However, this era was, unfortunately, temporary. Due to the war and economic conditions, big band groups were hard to put together or even maintain. In addition to this, a recording ban in the mid-to-late 40's (1942 and 1948 due to musicians' union strikes) prevented any legal records from being made. By the time these bans had been lifted, swing had already phased into traditional pop music or (d)evolved into new jazz styles such as jump blues and bebop. This was much to the disappointment of artists such as Benny Goodman: "(Be)Bop. To me it's a circus. For all I know those guys might think they're playing soulful music. Basically, it's all wrong. Not even knowing the scales."  The music of the swing era is often regarded as one of the most influential precursors to traditional pop music, as it helped popularize many American "standards."

        During the 50's, classic pop music dominated the charts for the first part of the decade. This type of music was vocal-driven, although bands usually backed vocalists; plus it focused on the song's story and emotion rather than the focus on orchestration of the big band and swing era. During the latter half of the 50's, a swing revival occurred, along with the rise of rock and roll. Pop music influenced both of them. The swing revival brought back swing bands, but with a major change; vocalists were more center-stage than in the 40s. Singers like Frank Sinatra became very popular and well known during this revival. However, rock and roll dominated the music scene through the latter half of the 50's and continued to dominate the music scene through the 80's albeit numerous style branch offs such as hard rock, metal(regular, heavy, death), etc and transplantation to countries like England and Australia. It had its roots in African-American music, primarilly blues, boogie woogie, jump blues, jazz, and gospel music which combined with Western swing and country music to create rock music. Noteworthy rock and roll(rock music) musicians and groups during this long time period include Elvis, Chuck Berry, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Creedence Clearwater Revival, ELO, Boston, Foreigner, Kansas, Journey, Styx, Jimi Hendrix, AC/DC, Queen, Aerosmith, and many others.


         



References:
http://voices.pitt.edu/
http://www.balladofamerica.com/ushistorythroughmusic/index.htm
http://library.umkc.edu/spec-col/ww1/index.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role_of_music_in_World_War_II
http://articles.latimes.com/2000/jul/05/local/me-47919
http://www.mercurynews.com/entertainment/ci_26072993/6-songs-replace-star-spangled-banner-national-anthem
http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=265024
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_history_of_the_United_States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_music
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_music

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Why music is so important to movies and TV shows.

        Music, in all of its intricacies, provokes a number of emotions, ranging from simple, on the surface ones like happiness, to ones that pull at our gut and imbue qualities such as bravery, mysteriousness, hopefulness, and joy. Without it, movies and TV shows would lose their ability to create suspense, surprise, sadness, and that je ne sais quoi that you feel when the good guys triumph. In short, films and/or TV shows would not have the same effect on us without music.  Just imagine the shark in Jaws, without its dum-dum-dum-dum theme, or any of the Star Wars episodes without those tunes which introduce us to the characters and their adventures.
       
        Here is a clip to demonstrate how the music in Star Wars affects the scene and how no music makes the experience very awkward:

Lord of the Rings scenes would be quite dry without music. Howard Shore’s Oscar-winning music had a terrific grasp on what each scene needed, juggling a variety of of tones throughout the three films to create an assortment of tracks that set the mood as ominous, epic, or emotional.



Friday, September 18, 2015

My most anticipated new shows for fall 2015

Here are my most anticipated new shows for fall 2015.

 1. Heroes Reborn
        From TVGuide: Chuck's Zachary Levi stars in this 13-episode miniseries that, like the original series, features ordinary people trying to understand and live with their extraordinary abilities. Original cast members Jack Coleman, Masi Oka and Jimmy Jean-Louis will return, and Pruitt Taylor Vince, Robbie Kay, Ryan Guzman, Rya Kihlsedt, Gatlin Green, Henry Zebrowski, Francesca Eastwood, Eve Harlow and Judi Shekoni will also star.

I never saw the original Heroes show, but I have watched most of Chuck, and Zachary Levi is a very good actor. His experience with a spy/espionage/action show should come back to help him in Heroes Reborn.

 2. Rosewood
       From TVGuide: This investigative series stars Morris Chestnut as Dr. Beaumont Rosewood, the top private pathologist in all of Miami. He uses his sophisticated, state-of-the-art lab to find the secrets in bodies that others usually miss and help the cynical female detective (Jaina Lee Ortiz) he often works with. Maggie Elizabeth Jones, Anna Konkle and Gabrielle Dennis also star.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've seen trailers for Rosewood, and its plot seemed interesting. He(Rosewood) says he’s living on borrowed time and I noticed he has a large gash/scar-like thing down the center of his torso. I would really like to know what happened to him/ how he got that scar.

 3. Minority Report
        From TVGuide: Ten years after the events of the movie starring Tom Cruise, a "pre-cog" named Dash (Stark Sand) struggles to live a normal life. He gets help from a detective (Meagan Good) and finds a purpose for his powers.

I’ve been meaning to watch Minority Report (the movie) but haven’t got around to it. But considering this is a sci-fi crime show, I think I’ll enjoy it.

 4. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
        Colbert wrapped up his satire/comedy news program, The Colbert Report, last year. He is still staying in the late night game, but the question is whether or not he'll just do his own take on Johnny/Dave/Conan/etc, or continue mixing it up. I hope that he continues to forge his own path and continue "asking the hard questions".

 5. The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
        After Jon Stewart's unforgettable and lasting tenure on the show, will Trevor be able to pick up where Jon left off, or will he change the face of the show? 
        It very well might not change much, in the beginning. Trevor has kept (for now) most/or all of the entire writing team and support staff that were there at the end of Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" tenure. But as the show is always "filtered" through the personality and interests of the host, so whether we like it or not, it will eventually deviate from Stewart's rendition of the show.








References:
http://www.tvguide.com/special/fall-preview/
http://www.tvguide.com/special/fall-preview/gallery/2015-new-fall-tv-shows/
http://www.tvguide.com/special/fall-preview/gallery/2015-new-fall-shows/


Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Returning shows of Fall 2015 that I am anticipating


Hi everyone!
There are several returning shows this fall that I will continue watching.
Here we go!


        1. MARVEL's Agents of SHIELD.
        Agents of Shield has been running for 2 seasons, and now it's starting its third season. The last 2 episodes, S.O.S. Parts 1 and 2, left many loose threads for fans to ponder. It left us with Jiaying’s Terrigen crystals thrown into the ocean by Skye, which leach into the ocean, becoming a key ingredient in fish oil tablets on shelves around the world. With their effects spread far and wide there's a likely chance that many people are going to die, or by some miracle, they transform people into Inhumans(for you to understand what this means, you'll have to watch Season 2 of Agents of Shield). In addition to that, Ward is tracking down the heads of HYDRA, but the names he procures are already killed or captured. So, this leads us to believe that Ward himself may emerge as a or the new leader of Hydra. Since both Captain America films, especially The Winter Soldier, have established the mysterious and evil organization as a main antagonist in the MCU(Marvel Cinematic Universe), it’s no surprise they haven’t quite been eradicated. You know what they say: cut off one head, two more shall take its place. Lastly, the last scene of the finale revisits the relationship between Fitz and Simmons; they finally agree to go on a date together. But those plans are probably canceled as Simmons is enveloped by the Kree weapon (image here (from the MCU wiki)) that the Inhumans said could destroy their people. We still don’t know much about the artifact, but it’s fairly safe to say that Simmons won’t come out the same person she was when she went in. We’ll have to wait until season 3 to find out what that means exactly.


        2. Agent Carter
        Although there were rumors that there wasn't going to be a 2nd season, I can tell you those rumors are false. ABC and MARVEL will bring Peggy Carter and the gang back for another 10 episodes. We don't know that much at the moment, but there's an official synopsis:  “Peggy must now journey from New York City to Los Angeles for her most dangerous assignment yet,” where she “discovers new friends, a new home… and perhaps even a new love.”
Going to Los Angeles is probably a good thing. Much of the Marvel Universe is already NYC-centric, and according to Denofgeek, "the New York sets on Agent Carter weren't the most convincing."

        3. The Big Bang Theory
        The Big Bang Theory starts backs up with its ninth season on the 21st on CBS at 7:00 pm(CST). Season 8 left us with a cliffhanger; Amy and Sheldon are nearly at a tipping point in their relationship(Sheldon has an engagement ring at the end of the episode), Penny and Leonard encouter a bump in their relationship because Leonard comes clean about something that happened on his research trip in the North Sea a few years ago; he made out with another girl while he was drunk (apparently, when you’re stuck on a boat, a common way to pass the time is by drinking large amounts of alcohol.); so their wedding plans are most likely to be delayed. Raj is contemplating breaking up with Emily, and Bernadette and Howard are guilt tripped into letting Stewart stay at their place longer(even though he has overstayed his welcome). But, there is no doubt in my mind that Sheldon will one day ask Amy to marry him. I hope the ceremony is in Klingon.

        4. Castle
        Season eight of Castle will also debut on the 21st, but on ABC at 9:00 pm CST. Season 7 ended with an origin story of why Castle became a murder/mystery writer, or a writer at all. It starts with a murder similar to the one he witnessed when he was a child. They do their thing and they find the murderer (who wears a creepy porcelain mask when he murders), but instead of bringing him in, they are attacked by him and Castle shoots him. Case closed. That night, Castle accepts an award for his writing. At the end of the night, the cast sits around a big table. Beckett has been invited to run for the New York State Senate. If that doesn’t work out, she has the opportunity to be a captain since she aced her exam. She could be running her own precinct within a year (yea!). The only one who didn’t get a solid ending was Alexis. She may not have any idea what she wants to be when she grows up, but, as EW.com said, "we do know her hair and skin will be flawless, whatever she chooses". The finale ends with the entire cast agreeing that the future is bright and each one is looking forward to a new adventure. Then a call comes in to report a murder (Here we go again!).
        I'm looking forward to season 8 to reveal some more clues about what happened while Castle was missing for those 2 months and for more character development as Alexis decides what she will do.

        5. Doctor Who
        Doctor Who Series(Season) 9 will come on-air on the 19th of September. A guide to all the episodes that will be run along with their descriptions is located here. Hopefully, this season will be as entertaining as the last few seasons.
 Other TV shows that received my honorable mention were Arrow, The Flash, black-ish, Modern Family, and a few others.







References: 
http://www.tvguide.com/special/fall-preview/gallery/2015-new-fall-shows/photo/c2d8b089-1838-4d66-8a64-2782a94ac02a
http://www.hitfix.com/galleries/12-most-anticipated-returning-tv-shows/1#5
http://screenrant.com/agents-shield-season-2-finale-sos-review-recap-spoilers/
http://www.denofgeek.us/tv/agent-carter/244074/agent-carter-season-2-news-everything-we-know
http://www.ew.com/recap/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-finale
http://www.ew.com/article/2015/05/11/castle-season-7-finale-react