The Soundtrack of My Life

There is no way that my musical tastes can be summed up into just a few key genres or bands or who i think has the best voice. I quite literally listen to everything. I think, however, that the most disappointing thing in life is music with no substance. Music is art and serves a purpose, whether that's to send a message, make you cry, make you smile, or just make you dance and have fun, but the point, I think, is the emotion.I don't mean a song has to be sad or sappy to be good, it just needs passion. For example, in almost every Prince song you can feel the sexual intensity he is creating, Journey's Don't Stop Believin' makes you never ever want to give up on your dreams (I have yet to met a person that doesn't at least smile when they hear that song), and in Devotchka's song In the End, which I know you've had to have heard on a commercial at one point, the beginning makes you really really depressed and keeps bringing you more down until the big loud part when you want to just finally cry already, each of those songs displays fantastic passion.
Being a singer myself, another thing I can totally appreciate is an amazing voice, that you know just from hearing it has that person's whole heart and soul and story and life in it. Janis Joplin and Billie Holiday are the greatest examples of this that I know. Along with using your voice as an instrument, using actual instruments in a creative and new way can be so beautiful. Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes uses whole orchestras, old folk sounds, and electronic beats along with his amazingly poetic lyrics and honest voice to make fantastic songs like "Make a Plan to Love Me," "First Day of My Life," and "Easy, Lucky, Free". I also grew up with the legendary mad guitar skills of Santana playing all through my house so I love listening to just instrumental music too. Bob Dylan, The Beatles and Bob Marley are all like family to me with how much I listen to them, I can't explain it but I should have lived in their time.
If you know me at all you know that I love to dance, everywhere, anytime. I too can respect an awesome beat even if it doesn't have deep lyrics or isn't sung beautifully. I love "booty music", funk, salsa, etc., I see dance and music as freeing experiences. M.I.A's "Paper Planes" makes me feel so cool dancing in the car to and "Bust A Move" by Young MC will always make me walk away from whatever I'm doing just to do the running man, and everyone knows that I'm always down for Sir MixAlot's "Baby Got Back". And as random as it is, I really like listening to songs from my favorite Disney movies.
I think my selections reflect the notion of boundaries because my tastes can cross so many boundaries, culturally, beyond cliques, for every emotion and any event. Music is something that both divides us and brings us together; for example: cliques form with the types of music people like but we can meet new people that we get along with at concerts of our favorite artists. The music you listen to says a lot about who you are and I think the bigger the variety you have in your MP3 player, the more fun you'll have and the more you'll learn.

http://www.dailymotion.com/virtualmatter/video/x14xwu_miamirain

Veterans Day

This article was so touching; I feel terrible that this man came back to America to make something of himself by serving in the military and ended up almost losing his life and had to live the rest of his life with a burden of guilt and sadness that he couldn't ever vent about. I think that was probably a ridiculous amount of pressure for Anthony Acevedo, as a medic, to take care of everyone else. Acevedo "spoke the unspeakable" by voicing the atrocities that he saw even though he wasn't supposed to because it was the right thing to do.

MAUS

I don't know that I fully understood the message of the MAUS comic. I think that Spiegelman depicted Jewish people as mice because back in the time when there was a lot of open Jewish hate during the Holocaust, many newspapers would draw cartoons in them making fun of the way Jews looked and because they had characteristically larger noses people drew them as long nosed rats or mice. I think Spiegelman depicted Jews that way as sort of a play on that idea.I think things that uses visuals have more of an immediate impact on the reader and i think that's how the use of the comic influenced the text.

After reading this I don't think I've changed my ideas about the purpose of art. I don't think that art has an "obligation" to improve the human condition but i think it makes it better if it does, but even just making the human condition know through art is something that's good.

Theo Jensen Kinetic Sculptures

After watching sculptor Theo Jensen's presentation I didn't quite know what to make of it. I thought it was an interesting engineering feat. It worked and looked so oddly but was so innovative. I thought the concept of a "new wheel" and that these sculptures were wind powered was so fantastic. There could be potential for seriously different and much needed clean technological advances. I thought it was funny that Jensen referred to the structures as "life forms"; it would be really weird to see if, as he said, they eventually "survived" on their own. I don't really understand what he set out to make, if that was his goal or if he just stumbled on it; if it was his goal then I truly admire his creative imagination. I'm not sure if I'd right away call this "art" though. I believe art is supposed to portray a message about the world/culture and make you feel and think and imagine the concept(s) of that message in a whole new way. Jensen's pieces are very imaginative and make you think about the future of technology and they give a message of "clean" advances.

Election '08 a Win for America!

I’m so happy with the results of the election! I voted for Obama because after eight years of ridiculousness from the republican run government we need a change. Not only will this change the face of our country as a more tolerant people, it shows that the American people are not ignorant and can realize when they need to stand up and make a change. I honestly was more than worried about the prospect of having John McCain and Sarah Palin, two extremely conservative people, leading our nation when many of the things that I support such as the fight against global warming, the pro-choice agenda, and ending the war, do not correspond with most conservative views. I think internationally as well Barak Obama will give the United States a whole new image something that has hurt our nation when trying to deal with many foreign issues. Finally, I believe the victory for Obama gives great hope to the youth of our nation not only to the minorities that are now assured that they can be anything they want to be, but also seeing as 80 percent of youth voters voted for Obama, that the voice of the next generation does matter.
Obama is going into this position with a mountain of issues to sort through and figure out. I think he said it best in his acceptance speech, he was honest in saying that it will be a long hard road that may not even end in one term, but I in my heart feel that he will help turn our country in the right direction. The only thing that I keep thinking about in the back of my mind, that I know many people are trying not to think about, is the fear that someone will do something really stupid and try to hurt our future president because while we know this is a monumental step, there are still those that hold hate and I sincerely hope that nothing like that happens. Something like that could tear our country apart even more and from there I have little hope for this nation.

On the Other Side of the Trail

On my side there are houses
there are cars and small businesses
These are the similar looking homes on
the similar looking streets
These are the things that are built,
worn out and thrown away
They house many but are home to few.
On my side is technology, future and man.

On the other side of the trail
there are trees and leaves
There are many species and many colors,
textures and angles for light to hit
These are things that live and grow and
die and survive
This earth, this nature is home to all
On the other side of the trail there is
life and change and forever.




My poem represents this suburb that was created a long time ago, tearing down nature and putting up buildings of no significance and cookie cutter homes. On the other side of the trail,Ann Arbor Trail, is a wonderful strip of nature and of real community; where the different animals and plants live together, and kids play together in the park, joggers and bikers share a beautiful day. I sort of envy the other side.

Restaurant Review

I Think I’m Turning Japanese!

At Newburg and Six Mile, in Livonia, Michigan you’ll find a rather sad looking, half abandoned strip mall. Not visible until you actually enter the parking lot is Akasaka restaurant. Inconspicuous looking as it is, this small space is seriously discredited only by its location.

Akasaka serves American- friendly Japanese cuisine in a traditionally decorated setting. Complete with shoji screens (white paper walls/ dividers) and exposed wood, the décor is pleasantly lit and is adorned with oriental flower table cloths and decorations. While there are regular tables and chairs for guests to sit at, there are also privacy rooms that are made to be in traditional Japanese style where one removes their shoes and sits on mats on the floor at a low table to eat. To dine in these “VIP” rooms the party must consist of at least four people an each guest must spend a minimum of $25; Reservations are not required here aside from these rooms. There is also a sushi bar that has seating, where guests can either watch sushi chefs prepare their dishes or some television.

Overall, the dining area was clean and comfortable. The atmosphere was quiet but very friendly. While my guest and I sat at a table near the sushi bar and were able to have an enjoyable conversation over dinner, the mood at the bar seemed a lot more lively with its company watching t.v., drinking, and chatting up the chefs. Our waitress was very attentive; however she did give us the feeling of being a little rushed. Toward the end of our meal, on the other hand, our waitress was very accommodating, when she helped box up our leftovers and was not at all annoyed when I asked her questions.

My guest and I started off with appetizers of shrimp tempura, (fried shrimp which also came with fried asparagus, zucchini, and red pepper)and yakitori, skewered chicken, onions, and green peppers. The tempura was tasty in its simplicity. It was just fried shrimp dipped in Akasaka’s own mixed soy sauce, but it had plenty of flavor. The fact that it was fried and crunchy made it slightly messier than I would have liked. My favorite part of the yakitori was the sauce. With almost a barbeque sauce taste it was complemented nicely by the taste of the sweet onions and hearty green peppers. The portion of the sauce they gave was just right to be tasteful and not overpowering. Although delicious, I did find that it was a little difficult to get the chicken off of the skewers.

I ordered nabiaki udon noodle soup as my entrée. The thick wheat noodles absorbed the salty flavored fish broth very well and had a chewy/ squishy texture that was exciting to eat. Complying with the Japanese custom, I slurped these noodles as a sign of approval of the dish, which made it even more fun to eat. The mushrooms in the soup were way too bitter for the taste of the soup and I even ended up taking them all out. There was also a jumbo shrimp tempura floating in the soup and by the time I ate it, it was very soggy and falling apart. I did let my American palate get the best of me by declining the fried egg that also floated in the middle of my bowl of soup. A salmon dish was my guest’s choice for his main course. He said the fish wasn’t flakey or overcooked and he expressed a liking for the skin saying it was “salty and a little oily in a good way,” and that he appreciated that it wasn’t smothered in a sauce. As a personal preference my guest bypassed the green beans that were one of his side dishes but said that the creamy pasta was a nice surprise of taste because it oddly had the flavor like that of potato salad. At the end of our meal we enjoyed some fresh green tea that was a cleansing and relaxing post- dinner refresher.

While I was thoroughly proud of myself for using chop sticks instead of silverware throughout my entire dinner and ended up being very satisfied with the taste and service of my meal, there was one thing I left not as content with, the price. Appetizers were between $4 and $15 dollars, while the entrées were anywhere between $8 and $26. The food was good but as for the overall dining experience I felt that it could’ve been a little more reasonable. All together I would recommend Akasaka restaurant to others if they felt like spending a little more money.