X marks the spot

     Pirates?  Not really sure.  X marks the spot is a pretty clichéd saying, and you’d think that pirates would recognize after a while that if they keep on using the same mark for their treasure spot, someone else might find it as well.  Might as well mix it up a little bit, throw some O’s there for good measure.  Makes me wonder if there were just like illegal banks back then.  Kind of a decent idea, just like a regular bank in public, but then it holds all this laundered money particularly from pirates.  I mean, they probably couldn’t prevent too many stick ups of said “bank”, but if they could I mean.  Beats digging holes and having other people find it for sure. 

Album Review

     The last full album I listened to was Year Zero, by the group Nine Inch Nails.  Five of the sixteen tracks on the album are fairly well known by the public, but for the most part each song on the album is public worthy.  “The Beginning of the End”, “Survivalism”, “Capital G”, “The Great Destroyer” and “Meet Your Master” are the strongest tracks, and have received a fair amount of praise.  Some songs, such as “Zero Sum”, “The Greater Good”, and “Another Version of the Truth”, seem to drag on, leading only to disappointment after the buildups with dreary and inconsistent choruses. 

     By the standards of the man behind the project, Trent Reznor, the album is very unlike any other albums he has done before.  The album seems less experimental, and appears to follow more set song structures.  Year zero tries to appeal to every angle, not particularly focusing on one sound over another, though the drone and laptop-type electronic sharp tunes contrast against one another in almost every song.  It is far less instrument-based than his earlier album, simply and purely set noise, often blurring to set an interesting contrast.

     The songs are sudden, and definitely not something to simply relax to.  With its art rock influences, it keeps one aware the entire album.  One cannot deny the brilliance of Trent Reznor, a pioneer in the genre. The amount of care put in each song is evident, unlike some of his other, more experimental work (at one point, he had released four albums worth of music all at once, completed in only a couple months).  All in all, a wonderful album that has surely gotten well deserved recognition.

I know this means something

In fifty years, who knows what this world will be like? Will it even exist anymore? Will we?

     Maybe none of that is really important.  The thing that really matters, the thing I know means something, is that everything is remembered.  What happened in the past may not affect those that live on in the future, we couldn’t possibly know that.  But what does matter is that at the very least, things are portrayed, and known.  If something is forgotten, it is as if it never existed.  It seems disrespectful to me, more than that even. If we change how things are remembered, we change their perceptions, and how things happen or are supposed to. 

     How things are perceived are different depending on the viewer.  And likewise, how something is remembered varies from person to person or society to society.  However, the facts can be recited through memory, and have the perceptions of others judge the event or such.  Things being recorded are useless if the knowledge will not be remembered.  Everything that happens should be remembered, even if only by a single person at a time.  

Good food review

     The last real restaurant I visited(not for class) would be Piazza Bella.  I think you might have mentioned it the other day, but I had gone on New Year’s Eve before going out.  While this place always has its setbacks (this particular time the table was located right next to the constantly-opening door), it is always a nice experience.  Unfortunately, going out with my family certainly always means that it takes several hours to get out the door.  This also means that upon arriving, my sister and I will fill up on bread before the meal begins.

     Even so, it is a great Italian restaurant, having a very unique sauce that is put on just about everything.  Almost always, my family orders the same thing each time.  Not messing with tradition, we do this, and pass dishes between one another.  If I was mistaken, and you did not already go, I would recommend going there when you next get a chance.  It’s a good solid meal, and defiantly a good place for family. 

King still King

     In this day and age, there are many characters and figures who inspire the young and oldwith tales of how they came to change the course of history.  A prime example is the late Martin Luther King Jr.  While I do believe there are many other people who deserve the same recognition and respect he does for his contributions, King is very well-deserving of his current role and display. 

     Now it seems to me that when a person dies for a justifiable cause, the cause is seen in another light.  People ignorant to it are now knowledgeable, and people already involved are more dedicated to the cause than ever.  It has always had more impact with the death of a person someone can relate to.  This is a large reason why he is so celebrated today. 

     He will truly live on, and hopefully people will begin to recognize others of equal impact on the world.  No matter how controversial, some people are just great, and deserve the respect of all. 

Globalization

     People are encouraged to look at globalization from a certain standpoint.  But who are we to decide that it is good or bad.  I’m sure that if I asked what one felt about it, they would disapprove, but take a certain aspect from globalization, and all of a sudden it turns into something great.  People take it for granted, take a look around.  Your pencil, your computer, most of everything around you, where was it made? If the answer is other than America, then imagine these things gone.  Unhappy?  Globalization doesn’t seem nearly as bad now, right?

     Your priorities, your patriotism.  If America was a third world country, holding no power, do you think it would be pleasant to live here? People continue to talk down globalization, but this is only until everything brought by it disappears.  In other countries, one might not have the same freedoms, to say whatever you want about it, to have it published somewhere. 

     We are very lucky, to be so accepting of others.  To not be ignorant of cultures, we share with globalization.  You would not be able to carry on your everyday life without it, everyone is surely better with it.  People simply need to acknowledge it.  I was easily able to look up globalization, see other’s views on it, put out my own view of it, and publish my work.  This is the work of globalization.

Thankful for a classmate

     I am thankful for all of my classmates; each one’s unique opinions bring a different outlook to the class’s discussions.  That each is humorous in their own way, and care about the others.  I’m not going to name anyone specifically, because it is not really a matter of one person over another.  People should recognize that someone in the class is grateful for them, for their existence and contributions. 

     My classmates are all very special people in their own way, and I believe that despite the arguments and having to choose one particular person, everyone in the class is thankful for everyone else.  In some way or another, seen or unseen, we all appreciate each other to the fullest extent.  If a single person is missing, than the group is incomplete.  The balance is shifted, and of course things won’t be the same. 

     I can’t choose just a single person.  No one’s contributions are more valuable than another’s, simply different.  It is these differences that make the class special, the classmates make the class.  Most of the time, it is not the material from the class, but the how the material is taken and changed by the people in the class.