Journal #3: What is Taylor Swift Anyways?

Journal #3: Taylor Swift and Pop Music?

"Red" Taylor Swift's Newest Album 

Photo courtesy: Nathan Wisnicki

With Taylor Swift’s latest album released, Red has become produced much controversy over her in the music world.  People no longer believe that her music is strictly country anymore. Her new songs still interest many listeners, especially those of the younger generation but no longer are of the country genre. After reading the article, In Defense of Taylor Swift and Gen-Y Music, you cannot blame the talented and open-hearted young lady for making such likeable songs. According to Nathan Wisnicki, that is why we are having a hard time dealing with Taylor Swift.

            Swift as both a composer and songwriter is becoming both more specific and universal at the same time. She is now moving away from the traditional “true country” she was originally associated with and moving towards the interest of the today’s listeners. Taylor at age 22 is truly artistry in the making, already being one of the finest record-makers in the world.  Swift everything she can to create realistic songs the vast majority of us can relate to. I personally was always a Taylor Swift fan, simply because the uniqueness of her lyrics. I don’t like to consider myself the traditional teen pop music fan but I do like Swift’s first number one hit, “We are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”

            Throughout the article, author Nathan Wisnicki points out that Taylor Swift is really truly something special to the music world. She is not just popular, but very popular with today’s demographics and teenage girls. With her latest album now out, I proves she is no long just country, but transitioning into the pop culture too. However, I don’t think her fans will complain one bit since she is just renovating the way we see her music.

Source:http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/164733-taylor-swift-red/

Brief Screening Report

"Call It"- No Country for Old Men Courtesy:Youtube 

            I choose to watch the film, No Country for Old Men. This movie was really an action packed thriller that had a lot of strange surprised. The film was directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, which do an excellent job making it seem like you are right there in the drama yourself. The film is based around the main character, Llewelyn Moss incidentally comes across a Texas dope deal gone horribly wrong, where he finds a briefcase with two million dollars in cash in it and decides to protect it with his life. This is when Llewelyn begins an everlasting chase with a crazy psychopathic killer. This movie isn’t just your typical crime plot, there is a couple times when I was found myself in utter shock from what happened in the movie.

Journal #2: Grumpy Old Men

Journal #2: My Favorite Movie

 Short Clip from Grumpy Old Men  Courtesy: Youtube

            One of my most favorite movies of all time would have to be Grumpy Old Men. Directed by Donald Petrie, I found it to be a hilarious movie everyone should see.  I personally find this to be a good movie because of its use of humor and how well I can relate to the movie. I think I like the movie so well simply because John and Max, longtime buddies are constantly playing cruel jokes on each other. The movie is a romantic comedy so there are many cultural elements in it. There are no such things as moral codes and assumptions when it comes to John and Max, that’s why this movie is so different than others. The prejudices they reference about gender and class are the best. Mainly because the two are fighting over a lady, and at their ages it is really funny. I really like the part when Max uses his truck to push John’s ice shack towards open water with John in it yet. I find this part to be really connecting with me because the movie takes place in northern Minnesota, and normally they don’t make movies about the bizarre things that go on up north.

            I like how the two guys are always arguing, competing, and insulting each other. They do this no stop with most of us can relate to people in our own reality. I found there to be one moral code in this movie too. Both men respected each other, even though they were constant playing pranks on another. They respected each other enough actually that they helped each other our financially actually when it was needed. This can teach us, as the audience an important life lesson on how to live with no regrets.  Since the movie is a comedy it is hard to watch seriously but there are important lessons to be learned from it.

Journal #1: Personal Response to Maraniss

Maraniss Response

Packer vs. Seattle Game Call  Courtesy: Youtube

            After reading the article David Maraniss wrote about the Packer versus Seahawks game I now feel if I’m not alone. I feel the same way about the brutal game as he says he does. I think that it is cool how he starts the article saying how it is strange to hear Sheldon Adelson quoting Vince Lombardi as his philosophical inspiration. Adelson announced that winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing. This is contradictory to what old coach Lombardi taught and more importantly believed. I thought this was a very good introduction especially after seeing everybody Monday morning, and how everybody has in a mad and bummed mood.

            I think it was clever of Maraniss to what he asked next. Maraniss himself stated that after twelve hours he calmed down and remembered that it was only a football game. But more importantly, it brought a question to his mind. So was winning the only thing? I think this a really good question we should ask ourselves after any game. It is only human nature to see what we want to see in life. That is why it is hard to take a loss. We have a natural instinct in us that wants us to always win and succeed.  This is why we tend to argue in favor of our side no matter what. In terms of Monday night, argue and complain about the replacement referees.

            I like what Maraniss says next the most out of the article. He says he visceral dislikes scabs, and considers the replacement refs just that. Then he says he enjoys rooting for the Packers, who are owned by citizens, the only publicly owned institution in American professional sports. How cannot you be proud to consider yourself part of that? What really got him and I strongly agree with this myself was how the refs, Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson acted after the mind-boggling call we all seen. None of these people questioned the call their peers just made because it was in their favor. Everyone seen the same play and was dumb founded by it didn’t speak up unless it was against their team. This is when he tells how Wilson called the ending a tough call in an interview after the game. Wilson called the ending a “a tough call” but in reality there was nothing tough about it at all. In reality, to say that was a touchdown and not an interception is like saying black is white.

            I really like how Maraniss sums up his article the most. He says I never believed that winning is the only thing and either did Vince Lombardi. He then made it clear that Lombardi was harder on his team when they played poorly but won than if they played well but lost.  That is why I found what he said last the most true, even if he was Carroll or Wilson on Monday night, he would have felt compelled to see the truth and talk about it.  He then says I would have had a harder time sleeping with that sham on my conscience than with the anger of the call going the other way.  In conclusion, the score will forever stand and cannot be changed. But more importantly, we can remember that winning isn’t everything, and learn to watch our actions before they are made into history.

The Believing Game B

I believe that we should be able to hunt wolves in the state of Wisconsin. I come from the north woods of Wisconsin and have firsthand experience of how many wolves we actually have in the state. Way more than the WI DNR actually thinks, I have seen wolf damages and as well as scares they have brought to humans. I think that it is wrong farmers cannot legally harvest a wolf endangering their livestock until it’s too late. They are supposed to receive compensation if they have a wolf kill instead, and I find this very stupid. Wisconsin is now working on having their first wolf season this fall; however with their 200 tags they are supposed to give out; I believe it’s a quite underestimate. I have seen the number of wolves in northern Wisconsin, and seen how they not only kill livestock but domestic pets as well and like to see it were anyone could shoot a wolf.

The Believing Game A

I believe that in the state of Wisconsin nobody should be able to hunt wolves. First, they are historically important to our natives that founded this land. For that reason we should respect them and not let anymore harvest our wolves. Second, wolves are a keystone species which keep all the other species in check within the state of Wisconsin. If we remove the wolf species from the food web, we will have much more of problem on our hands. Third, the estimated 800 wolves in the state are the only wolves we have. We would not want to put this number in danger with the effect of hunting.  Lastly, many people just like the enjoyment of seeing a wolf in nature. Since they are seen as such a majestic animal, many feel it would be a shame not to pass on the privilege of seeing a wolf to future generations.

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Mike's first archery kill

 

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This is just a test

Settle down, its just a test from Microsoft