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An album review..

Artist: The Hush Sound
Album: Like Vines
Released: 2006
Label: Fueled by Ramen
My Rating: 4 out of 5

The Hush Sound is a group of 4 who bring a new sound to the table. They don't exactly fit into the "emo," whiny, music scene that is very popular among teens these days. They have a jazzy feel and in Like Vines they definitely show their indie side. There are two main vocalists, one male and one female, whose voices compliment each others wonderfully. The female vocalist, Greta Salpeter is the bands pianist and the male, Bob Morris is the guitarist. Bobs voice, specifically in songs such as "Don't wake me up" resembles that of Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, while Greta's can be compared to the voice of Hayley Williams of Paramore.

The album had 2 hit songs. "We intertwined" which contains the lyrics "like vines, were intertwined" where the bands album title originated from. And "Wine Red" which was most popular among the public. Although these are the two most favorable of the public, my personal favorite on the album is "Sweet Tangerine." Bob Morris tackles this song alone vocally, which I love. Most songs are a duet, with a few that were done solo by either Greta or Bob. This is a way that surely kept the album fresh, a duet in all songs would have been overwhelmingly redundant. This is because The Hush Sound presents a signature, soft, relaxing sound consistently throughout the album, so the mix up as far as vocals go, was a good decision on their part. Some of my other favorites on the Album were "Where We Went Wrong","Lions Roar" and "Out Through the Curtain."

I gave Like Vines a 4 out of 5 for my rating. I encourage the Hush Sound to mix it up a bit! The piano is amazing, so put more emphasis on it! I would love another CD from the Hush Sound but if they don't throw in a new aspect, or invent a new sound, I cant help but assume the next album will be a relaxing mix of jazzy, indie, calm music, yet will sound very similar to Like Vines. Nevertheless, keep up the good work.

Required Listening..

1. The Rolling Stones - Paint it Black.
I have heard this song many times, but never really soaked it in. It has an unforgettable hook, the guitar at the beginning is a very memorable beat. The song has a unique mix of tempos, starts off slow, and then picks up, and then goes slow again. As far as vocals go, I love how it starts off somewhat monotone and then picks up with the music, it really catches your attention. The humming through out the second part of the song is interesting. If it was just the music I could see myself getting a bit bored so the humming keeps your attention.




2. Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze
I can just picture Jimi Hendrix playing this song at Woodstock and thousands upon thousands of hippies, under the influence of LSD, rocking out to this song. The lyrics to me, make little sense and I understand now why the rumor exists that some of his lyrics may have been written while on some sort of drug (ex: "'Scuse me while I kiss the sky" or "Is it tomorrow or just the end of time?"), more specifically a hallucinogenic. There is a lot of "Ooo's" and "No, no, no's" in this song, which was either lyrical genius or filler words because of lack of lyrics, I can't decide.
Might I add, I love that picture of Jimi Hendrix that I found.



vs.




3. Pat Boone vs. Little Richard - Tutti Frutti
I wish I had listened to the Pat Boone version before I heard the little Richard version. They don't even compare! The little Richard version is funky and fun while the Pat Boone version is bland and unoriginal. Its interesting how two songs with identical lyrics can sound so different. Boone's version sounds the same throughout the whole thing while Little Richards mixes up the volume of his voice and adds some of his signature, high pitched "Ooo!'s" Another extra touch by Little Richard was the emphasis on the Sax. The Saxophone in Pat Boones version is there, but more in the background. Although both songs are extremely repetitive, Little Richard definitely comes out on top.

The Handmaids Tale

So far, the book is relatively slow. I love the writing and the plot really makes you think. Something that has been bothering my group and I (more specifically Paloma and I) is how little background knowledge the author gives us. It wouldn't make sense for her to give us any background information because the story is written from Offreds perspective, and her deeply reminiscing on the past would be somewhat irrelevant to the current story. Still, we would like to know some more information on how the society became the way it is. Slowly we are getting more clues but I think that everything will click into place once the author reveals some of the past's secrets. On another note, I have a feeling that Offred is going to start breaking the rules. She has showed many signs of a rebellious alter-ego. She talks about stealing, smoking, and just breaking the rules. This is rebellion because the society she lives in is extremely protected and breaking the smallest rule could have a sever punishment. I am wondering if she is going to concieve. If she doesn't it wouldn't be a disappointment because then we would get to see where the "unwomen"go. This is almost my preferred plot change because we can already safely assume that once she gets pregnant, it will be downhill from there and not the most exciting story. I am eager to see what happens with her and Nick also, they seem to have a little bit of a thing going on. The main theme in the book so far is brainwashing in my opinion, and Im sure it will continue throughout the book.

Mexico School Part 2

This is just a continuation of my last blog, if you want more information then you can read my previous post.

What I learned from this section of the article:
1. Text books are provided for free for primary levels of schooling. Grades 7-12 have to pay for their books, similar to the U.S.
2. The grading scale is different than our though. In Mexico, they are graded on a scale of 1-10. Teachers give exams 5 times a year, similar to state testing in the united states, because this exam must cover national curriculum. But then there is an additional national exam at the end of the year. If students score below a 6 on this test, they are required to repeat the grade.
3. The secondary schooling is divided into strict content areas. Grades 7 and 8 curriculum includes geometry and algebra. All 9th grade students must take trigonometry. All students must take a foreign language 3 hours a week. Science is also a requirement but because of the lack of laboratories, it is hard for students to engage in hands-on science. All students take 2 hours of art a week and 3 hours of technology. But again, because of lack of resources, sometimes these are subject to change.
4. By the time high school arrives, students are required to choose a school that will specialize in a certain career option. The school they attend will also prepare them for college, where they will continue to study in the same field.

Mexico School Part 1

I realized today that I didn't know very much about the Mexico education system in general, so I did some research and I found a really good site.
It stresses that most educators keep in the front of their mind, the background of their students and where they have come from. This is especially important in San Diego, and specifically at Bell because so many students were born out of the United States. Not only from Mexico, but from other places around the world as well.

Here are some things I found :)
1. The first education law was created in 1867 and it stated that education should be nonreligious, mandatory, and free.
2. Although Mexico has come a long way in creating a school for all children in Mexico, they still struggle with educational failure. Millions of students drop out after primary school, up to 9th grade.
3. Very rural communities struggle with this because the people are indigenous and speak Spanish as a second language. Most of the children only do the required amount of schooling time so that they can help support their families. Unfortunately, this contributes to lowering Mexicos' literacy rate.

The organizational structure is as follows:

Primary school

- Pre-escolar: Federally Funded programs for children ages 4-5.
- Primaria: Schools with grades 1-6 and at aleast one teacher per grade.
- Multigrados: One-room schools with one teacher for grades 1-6 or multigrade schools with several teachers, each teaching more that one grade.

Preschool and Primary

- Pre-escolar: Federally Funded programs for children ages 4-5.
- Primaria: Schools with grades 1-6 and at aleast one teacher per grade.
- Multigrados: One-room schools with one teacher for grades 1-6 or multigrade schools with several teachers, each teaching more that one grade.

High School (Grades 10-12)

- Preparatorias and Bachilleratos: Schools for college-bound youth, where students must choose one of 4 professional areas: physical-mathematics, chemical-biological, economic-administrative, or humanities.
- Tecnnologicas and Comercios: Schools for students who have a particular vocational career in mind.

There is a lot more that I will blog about tonight, but for now, class is over :)

http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-4/mexico.html

10 tons of cocaine seized in Mexican port town!

In Mexico City, Mexico, 7 suspected drug traffickers were arrested for posession of over 10 tons of cocaine. They are part of the Gulf Cartel, one of the two biggest drug gangs in all of Mexico. A cartel is a group of people or a business that come together under a common cause, or goal, in this case; drug trafficking. Felipe Calderon, the relatively new president of Mexico, has made an effort to put together a group of troops whose specific focus is to go after drug traffickers. He spoke of this effort in Tamaulipas, it is a big problem because people are smuggling mass amount of cocaine and marijuana into the United States. This has been an successful operation because recently, a big time drug trafficker Sandra Avila Beltran, nicknamed "Queen of the Pacific," was arrested along side of her boyfriend, another celebrity in the world of drug trafficking, Juan Diego Espinoza. When put in front of a judge, Beltran claimed to have made these mass amounts of money by selling clothes and renting houses. She is being charged with organized crime, money laundering and conspiracy to traffic drugs.


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/latinamerica/la-fg-mexico6oct06,1,2033087.story?coll=la-latinamerica