Woo Band Band

In true band kid fashion when told to “just talk” the first thing that I talk about is band. I was in band for seven years. Like I said in a previous post I play flute and piccolo. Those seven years were full of ups and downs and some of the hardest moments of my life.

Now I know that a lot of band kids like to say that they work harder than the football team or that band in general is harder than football and were I don’t know if thats true or not there are definitely some ensembles that work pretty freaking hard. For instance Tarpon Springs Outdoor Performance Ensemble( that’s’ a fancy name for marching band.) I am constantly amazed when I watch them, even as someone who has participated in the event is incredible the show that a group of high schoolers can put on. Check this video of them wining the national completion two years ago. (source)

Now my band was not anywhere close to that good, but we did manage to pull out sixth place in class at the state completion last year. Which is pretty cool because that is the best we had ever done and it was my senior year and I was also the featured soloist and the highest level of student authority in the band. So I feel pretty proud of what we were able to accomplish last year.

Although last year was the best we did placement wise I  think almost anyone who marched in 2013 would agree that was the best and most fun year. My band did “Wonka Pure Re-Imagination” which was a Willy Wonka (Book by: Ronald Dahl, movie adaptations 1971 and 2005)  show essentially. We all had so much fun that year and we did really well only not making finals by .3 of a point. (source)

Word Count: 311

My Favorites:Apocalypse Now

One of my favorite movies that I have discovered more recently is Apocalypse Now (1979). This movie follows the basic plot of the book Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, which is also one of my favorites. It uses the Korean war as setting and explores the bounds of the human mind. Like Heart of Darkness, there are no good words to describe this movie because of the material that it covers. Though the plot is important it only vaguely describe what the movie is actually about. As I’ve talked about before I tend to like stories that cover more vague topics or the mind and mental capacity. This movie does exactly that.  (source)

I must admit that I watched this movie in school as part of a unit in an english class but there were plenty of rumors from the class above us about how good the movie was so we were all pretty excited to see it and to top it  off the day we watched it was the same day that teacher had surround sound speakers installed in his room so it was quite the experience.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants to watch something that will make them think. Also a word of caution: this movie is quite violent at times and definitely covers extremely mature subject mater. When we watched this movie as a class our teacher felt inclined to warn us when there would be a graphic scene, which was defiantly appreciated by some members of the class even though we were all seniors in high school.(source) Overall I love this movie and would definitely recommend it to anyone who thinks they can handle it. I find it tells a really insightful story about human nature and the capacity of the human mind.

word count:304

Book Review: Cinder

(source)

Cinder by Marissa Meyer is a wonderful book about a half cyborg half human girl who discovers that she is the key to saving the world.

Admittedly I read this entire book in what was essentially one sitting. I do believe that had an impact on how I felt about this book. What I mean by that is I really felt like this book dragged on and even worse I feel like Meyer was well aware of that because the story seamed to be a little bit crazy. The middle of the story in particular was kind of hard to follow because of everything that was happening.

My only other major critique of this book is that it is written at quite a low level for the material that it covers.  If you’re looking for a light read with a familiar story then this is probably a good thing for you. However when I picked this book up I was hoping to be stimulated. Mostly because the story covers some fairly mature material.

Don’t get me wrong this was a great story and an incredibly detailed. Meyers doses a wonderful job of creating an entire world in the short space of this book. Not only does she describe the appearance of the changed world but she also explores the details of social classes and eventually the relationships between the different groups of people.  I found that this story very interesting and one of the more unique takes on the “Cinderella story.”

When I first read the summary on the back of the book I was nervous about reading a book that (source) included  space  robots and was still supposed to be a Cinderella story, but Meyer uses the different aspect of the main character in an refined way that is not at all what I was expecting when I read that it was about space robots.

Overall I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in young adult fantasy/ sci-fi that is looking for a fairly light read.

word count: 344

My Favorites: Top 5 Books

(source)

I have gone through several fazes of reading throughout my life,  I used to love reading when it wasn’t me doing the work, then as I grew up I hated it and wouldn’t touch a book. Then when I grew up some more I wouldn’t stop there were days that I would read from the time I got home until two or three in the morning. But when I became an upperclassman my priorities changed and I didn’t really have time. I do hope to get back into reading though because I have definitely had some great experiences through books.

My all time favorite: Johnathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. I originally read thisbook  with my dad in the third grade and though I didn’t   understand any of it, there was something about it that I just fell in love with
. Since then I have read it several more times and have been able to come up with some more concrete reasons why I love it. First it’s  got a great story of a seagull with determination, and second, every time you read it you can get something new out of it. I love that it’s so interesting to me all of the different thoughts that I’ve had because of this one book through my life.

The best of the worst: The Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. I love these books and I’m not afraid to say it. I know they are awful and of a subpar reading level, but that doesn’t stop me. The interesting part is that weather than  following a vampire these books follow the story of a “vampire protector.”

From my early years: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Del. This is another book that I read with my dad in elementary school. It tells the story of a girl and her brother who get stranded on an island when their people leave, the children must learn to survive and  fend for themselves. While hoping that someone will return for them.  I don’t really know why I love this book, and honestly I haven’t read it in years, but what I can tell you is that I loved story about nature and humans using the friendly animals to help them survive. (Bonus: Julie of The Wolves: its quite similar and had nearly identical themes)

From my really early years: The Magic Garden (author unknown). I wouldn’t feel right talking about my favorite books without mentioning this one, even though its not a “real” book. I brought this sucker in for show and tell so many weeks in a row that y teachers had to tell me to stop. It’s a lovely story of a little girl who makes flowers grow everywhere she walks. This was by far my favorite book as a child.

From school: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Everyone a long list  of books they were forced to read for school and usually several of those make it on our “never read again list” but this is my favorite. Now I admit I read this book before I had to because my friends who were a grade above me wouldn’t stop talking about it.
But still it was an assigned book so I still count it as being for school. There aren’t really words to tell you what this book is about in a few sentences, just know that if you read it you are in for the
ride of your life that ends with a dark twist. I would definitely recommend this book but be warned it is very dense and not for the faint of mind.(source)

word count:612