Album Review

Paramore

Riot!

Released 2007

Atlantic Recording Corporation

4 1/2 stars

This composition of 11 head-bobbing, heart-warming, feel-good songs not only gets the body going, but makes the listener actually hear the songs and take them in. This album, one of the best I have heard by far, makes you really listen to the messages that the artists are trying to send across. 

The message in track number 4, Misery Business, is the story of a girl awaiting the boy of her dreams to realize her existence. This song not only has a great beat, but has a moral issue of girl wanting boy, boy wanting another girl, but in the end realizing that he wants the original girl. It is one that would get stuck in your head for hours. 

Track number 10, Fences, takes a different spin on the band's normal route. This song shows just how much Paramore is capable of giving a great tune along with a catchy song. 

All though this album is brilliant in all ways possible, you cannot help but notice how much the songs sound similar. Even when these beats, tunes, and lyrics are obviously all different, it is sometimes hard to remember some of their songs because something about them sound similar. I would love to see an album by Paramore that is both unique, but keeps the same intentions and sound as the old Paramore. 

Overall, this album not only caught my attention, but kept me listening over and over again. Great work Paramore!

Required Listening Blog #1

Jerry Lee Lewis
The Mamas and the Papas
 Aretha Franklin

This week, we had a required listening list for Spencer's class. The list had songs from the 50s to the late 70s. It included artists from Elvis Presley to Bob Dylan to Jimi Hendrix. I enjoyed this requirement because it was an experience to hear all of the different sounds and types of music that these famous artists had to give to our world. 

One artist that stuck out to me was Aretha Franklin for singing her wonderful hit, "Respect". This song, to me, was a cry for what people had to go through back then. The way that Aretha sang this song is just amazing to me. The harmonizing of this tune is not only mesmerizing, but keeps your attention. The use of music in the background keeps you focused on the singing, but is a very nice touch to the songs main message. 

Another artist that had a great impact on my opinion of this required reading list was the Mamas and the Papas. The way that they sang, "California Dreamin'" was not only a delight to hear, but kept my attention the entire time. This song is so beautifully performed with the solos and the different harmonizing. What I especially liked about this was the different voice pitches and use of panning of those voices. The way they had both men and women singing the song was not only refreshing, but very unique. 

The last, but definitely not the least, song is by Jerry Lee Lewis called, "Great Balls of Fire". This song has a happy feel to it. If it wasn't for Jerry's emotion and emphasizing, this song would not be what it is now. The great piano in the background helps the emotion of the song even more. "Great Balls of Fire" is a great dancing song and a feel-good one, too. It was a pleasure to hear. 

Second Lit Circle woohoo

We had a Lit Circle meeting today and I was the summarizer. I thought our meeting today was the best one that we've had. Everyone contributed to the discussion and we all had a lot to say about the book.

So far, I like this book. Sometimes I find myself thinking that I don't like it at all. I think I get that from the storyline or the slow pace of it. But I really do like it because it is interesting to read a story like that and the suspense of the tiger and Pi is very exhilarating to read. I also like the book for the themes that it has.
They consist of:

• Morals and Religious beliefs
• Courage
• Animal knowledge

I feel that each of these themes helps Pi in his quest to get rescued and his well-being.

The smaller questions that I have for the text are:

1. With the knowledge that Pi gets off the boat, do you think that Richard Parker is safe? 
2. Does Pi successfully train the tiger?
3. Do the rations of food and water last him until he gets rescued?
4. What does religion and the swimming lessons have to do with Pi and the lifeboat? Do you think that it was planned for him to be a great swimmer, care so much about animals, and practice 3 religions?

The quote that stuck out to me the most was during the time when he was considering killing Richard Parker, but not actually doing it. He instead is going to train him. "I had a plan and it was a good one. I only needed to survive to put it into effect." (Page 200) This quote was interesting to me not only because it kept my attention to find out what the plan was, but also because it was an important part in Pi's survival. I think the author was trying to make the point that there is always a way around something, if it is killing or survival. This is very significant to the book because it will depend on the actions of Pi and the tiger to keep them alive. 

Now that I know that the book will have a big, unexpected twist at the end, I am a lot more eager to finish it and find out what happens. 

Lit Circle Meeting Blog

Up to this point in my book, Pi has been stranded on the lifeboat with a tiger, hyena, a dead zebra and a dead oragutan. I predict that the supplies that Pi found will last him a long time, but the fact that he has so much supplies seems strange to me.

I think that the animals might get to the food or something like that will happen. I pictured when I read the part about him almost dying of thirst and I felt that the imagery was perfect to show how he felt and his need to drink. When I was reading the part of religion and zoology, I felt that this can relate to the story later, during the part of the sailing. I felt that this story was both interesting and boring at the same time.

The story line so far is the same a lot of the time, but even if it is, I get a little bit interested in the story. I wonder about what is going to happen to the boy and what is going to happen to the animals if there is no more food. Will Pi get eaten? Does he make new friends on the lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? I think that he will kill the hyena, or Richard Parker will, then Richard Parker and Pi will become friends and they will find a island to live off of until a resue boat saves them. But I didn't expect the story to begin like it did or continue like it is.

Returning Day

We had the ENTIRE week off last week because of the San Diego fires, so I wasn't or didn't know to blog. So we took pics today of Trader Joe's and its produce. We also started our flash.

I hope that we get enough time and that we can finish everything within the time limit that we have. It will be hard, but I think I can handle it.

Blogging for no reason

Since we are done with the water quality presentations, we took a quiz today that was SOOOOO LONG!!!! but I felt that I did really well, seeing as I was one of the last to finish and wrote a ton. We are going to go on a field trip to test water on Thursday and Mexico is next week.

In Spencer's class we had time to work on our project, since vegas is now on the laptops, we can start putting it into the movie. All we could do today was make sure our script was long enough by reading over it and timing it.

Finalized Script

Today, we turned in our finalized script. Hopefully we get to work on vegas tomorrow. We can add our interview, the flash, and maybe even some pictures to our movie. I also think that we can start our voiceovers if the booth is working properly tomorrow.

In Anne's class, we had work time all period. We had an exeter and got prepared for our SLC's this week. Mine's on Thursday. I feel like I am prepared and ready, put I also think that a little bit of practice won't hurt.

Since we leave for Mexico next week, have a lot of days off and might not have much more work time, I hope that we can get a move on with our movie and get started.