English IV Summer Reading 2013

AP Language Summer Assignments 13-14

English II Honors summer Reading 2013

AP Lit Summer Assignment 2013

English IV GT summer reading

Noah is very passionate about voice work. “It’s something I’ve been very interested in since 7th grade, but this is the first year I’ve really pursued my passion.” Noah did come into the announcements scene with some experience. For about a year, he has been doing freelance voice acting gigs through a website called voiceactingalliance.com. Voice Acting Alliance is an online community that allows amateur voice actors to be found by those with projects in need of fine tuned voices. This has given Noah the opportunity to do some narration jobs as well as cartoon voices.

Noah says that his dream would be to “[be] known in the voice acting community to the point where people would seek me out for important voice acting roles. That would be an honor and privilege to be able to use my passion to be a part of great things.” Noah seems to be off to a good start towards his dream. When asked if we will be hearing more of him at school events, Noah responded with “If I have the opportunity I definitely will. I would love to do anything from MCing events to doing voice-overs for the band.” Keep an ear out, you won’t be hearing the last of this kid!

Time Machine

Aimee Copeland was 24 years old when her fun zip lining accident became a fight for her life.  She fell, cut her leg, had the gash stapled closed, and received a flesh eating bacteria.  Yes, many of us heard her story and prayed many prayers for her well being but because the river in which it occurred being not here in North Augusta, we all bypassed it thinking, “Oh this couldn’t happen to us.”

Many of our peers, friends, and family love to take a day, head out on a boat, and cruise the river. You’ll see many wakeboarders flying by along with many kayakers paddling a smooth relaxing trip. There will be people out on the rapids jumping rock to rock just trying to add adventure to their life. Yes, we all know the basic dangers of the river from the wildlife to the stumps and rocks hidden below. But, what many of us don’t know is the bacterias living and breeding in our river.

Senior at Lakeside High School, Stephen Holt, was only having a relaxing day with friends venturing the rapids when it soon turned into him fighting for his life. “I fell down into the river and hit a rock under the water and cut my leg to the bone.” Stephen recalls. Doctors thought this cut could easily be fixed with a few stitches, but they were not prepared for what had yet to come.

When a gash such as Stephen’s is stitched closed without the proper cleaning out, it becomes a breeding zone for whatever bacteria may lie deep down. Mr. Holt took a second trip to the hospital where he was advised that he had contracted necrotizing fasciitis. Necrotizing fasciitis is an infection that is caused by a bacteria that can destroy skin, fat, and tissues that cover muscles within a short amount of time. It is an extremely rare disease which results in a fight against time. Unfortunately, 1 in 4 people who contract this disease do not win the fight.

Holt, luckily won his battle. He is now full swing into his recovery. He was capable of going back to school to finish his senior year. Holt told TYJ, “My doctors told me that if I would’ve come in two days or so later, I would’ve lost my leg.” He will be joining his class in going across the stage May 25.

“I do not want to see anyone else in my town go through such scare as I did. So please take caution.” Stephen tells us. When you are going to have an adventure in the river and take this trip closer to hopping around the rapids, take the right precautions and know what is around you and under you. Stephen was lucky but just because he is a fighter doesn’t mean you’ll be the same. Have a safe summer you yellow jackets and be safe.

While most college kids see free time as an opportunity to catch up on some sleep, 20 year old Garrett Carrier sees this as precious time in which he could be making music. Between being a student at USCA and working 25 hours a week at Papa John’s, he doesn’t have much free time.

Garrett has been making music since middle school. He started off by making “crappy punk music” with his cousin but eventually learned how to record on a computer and use music programs to develop better songs. His first “big thing” was an electronica band called TGIF. He would make the beats and write lyrics during the week, and go and record at his friend’s house when he could. “We put out a 13 track cd and moved on” he said. “It wasn’t the best music but it really helped motivate me when I saw people actually listening to our songs.”

While he still occasionally makes electronica music, Garrett also makes rap music. If you asked him a few years ago, he wouldn’t have thought he would be making this kind of music. “I was never really into rap because the mainstream rap is so bad” he said, “It wasn’t until a few years ago when I was exposed to underground rap like Jedi Mind Tricks and The Weathermen. It really struck a chord with me and I realized that rapping was something I just had to do.” Shortly after this realization, his band Atta Reality was formed, and eventually he started doing his solo stuff, under the name Kosmoknot.

While the other college kids are napping, Garrett is hard at work. Putting a song together can take a lot of time and dedication. “Some days I’ll record a song in under an hour but some days I’ll spend three days re-writing the same verse because it just doesn’t sound right.” he said. “In the end, the excitement of making a song totally outweighs any difficulty it might entail.”

Garrett put out his first Kosmoknot EP, “Dark Horse” in October 2012. He promotes his music by posting it to twitter and music forums. He was recently featured on a compilation album of local artists at USCA. He is hopeful that this will “open some doors.” He said, “There’s not a huge market or demand for hip hop shows around here but that’s where the glory of internet and social media helps out.” All of his music is free to download at http://kosmoknot.bandcamp.com/. He also has free music on his soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/violentlightbeats) where he posts all of his beats and remixes.

“Limousine Machine”, Thick Jello’s hit single, features Sinclair’s musical partner, Mars Argo. The playful and bouncy melodies that surround this song will be stuck in your head for days. Argo’s vocal delivery in the chorus truly set the mood for the rest of the album. Each song revolves around the simple touch of guitar and synth, which Junior April Arthur loves about Sinclair’s style. “His melodies are mesmerizing,” she raves.

With songs like ”Weightless Egos” and ”Anything at All”, Sinclair’s quiet and introspective vocals shine, and they do so in a way I’ve never heard before. His voice is fragile and raw, anything but pitch perfect. The care and passion he harbors for music is incredibly obvious throughout the album, though it contains some odd choices in placement.

“Into the Flames”, a heavily rock inspired piece which contains a a truly wicked riff, is followed with the completely computerized beat of “732.” It was a bold move on Sinclair’s part to end with instrumentals that differ so wildly from the rest of the album. Yes, this album is raw. Yes, it holds mistakes. Yes, there are areas he could improve. But frankly, Titanic Sinclair is one talented dude who has somehow managed to pull together an album with various genre discrepancies. Rock, pop, and electronic combine to form a list of tracks that will have you grooving with every listen.

In reality, there’s nothing to fear from either side, according to our law, “A new Constitutional Amendment must be ratified in order to repeal a previous amendment. An amendment first must be proposed by either by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, or two-thirds of state legislatures. After the proposal, the amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the states.” Even if by some stroke of magic this got through congress and the senate, the votes of the states (as of the 2012 election) are completely split 51/49. So there are no three-fourths of the states in agreement here.

It should also be noted that Obama’s polar opposite, Ronald Reagan spoke out against the 22^nd amendment himself, claiming that “…if the people want to elect a President for a third term they should be allowed to do so,” in 1985. Reagan also claimed, “I would like to start a movement to eliminate the constitutional amendment that was passed a few years ago that limits a President to two terms.  Now I say I wouldn’t do that for myself, but for Presidents from here on.” This was said two years later.

So with all of this hoopla why is it that we are afraid when Obama decides to go for a turkey and not for Reagan?

Two reasons.

For one, because of the world views and morals liberals and conservatives hold, various things get them riled up. For liberals, its hope, as shown by Obama’s first term being the “Time for Change” and bringing up things such as the progressive and civil rights movements. Liberals are easily swayed by the hope that the future could be better for everyone. For conservatives, it’s fear. The fear of a dictatorship under a socialist is one step toward the dreaded communism. And NO American wants that. This tactic has been used throughout most of Obama’s presidency.

The other reason is because it’s not their side. If Reagan shot for a third term, conservatives would be doing the same as liberals, silently supporting. But this time it’s Obama, who’s so left that the word “socialist” gets thrown at him daily. It’s basically just the same thing. Next time we have a powerfully Republican president; I wouldn’t be surprised if the liberal media did the same thing and pulled the Hitler card.

It’s just two groups fighting for power.

The new album, Save Rock and Roll, has stirred up many opinions and reviews from fans as well as everyone in the music industry. After the first two singles, My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark and The Phoenix, were released, the band has received constant criticism from upset fans and music critics, especially after the band announced the title of the upcoming album.

Save Rock and Roll was released on April 16, 2013. The 11-track record delivers a brand new side of Fall Out Boy while still touching ends with the soul of the band and what their music represents. It’s obvious from the start–and all the way through the album–that some things have changed since their most recent album in 2008. There’s a poppier, more produced feel to each song; a strong contrast to the iconic punk-rock garage-y sound that resonated in the band’s older records. Songs like “Where Did The Party Go?” and “Young Volcanoes”, both of which possess strong yet simple bass cadences with colorfully tuned vocal melodies, are shining examples of the changes that have occurred through the hiatus. Many of the other songs, however, introduce an interesting twist on “classic” Fall Out Boy’s style, combining a multitude of synthesizer leads with powerful punk-rock undertones carrying each song.

The album also features four guest artists: Foxes, an English female singer;  Big Sean, a rapper notorious for oddly memorable verses (e.g. the Biebz’s “Beauty and a Beat”, and G.O.O.D. Music’s “Mercy”); Courtney Love, ex-wife of grunge god Kurt Cobain and rock goddess herself; and Elton John, singer, classic rock icon, and one of the most successful artists of all time. These are additions that add even more flair and uniqueness to the new music.

After three years of silence, no one really knew what to expect from the record, but there’s no doubt that each and every listener was surprised. Some were simply joyful to hear Patrick’s swooning voice again, but others were disappointed in the severe changes from their old beloved band. ”I miss their old stuff a lot” says senior Samuel Caudill, and hundreds of thousands of fans are in the same boat. The style of FOB’s newer music is, in the ears of most, significantly different from the band’s smash hit albums From Under The Cork Tree and Infinity On High.

This change of style obviously didn’t hurt everyone’s feelings, though; the album debuted on the Billboard 200 best-selling albums of the week at the #1 spot, as well as holding the #1 spot on iTunes on-and-off for the past two weeks.

With the feedback from fans and critics alike, the band has continued to reinforce their mindset towards their new music. On April 8, a week before the album’s scheduled release, the band uploaded the entirety of the new album to SoundCloud and their website. Paired with this post was a message from the band, containing statements such as

“we made this music for ourselves and no one else at the end of the day . . . this is us. these incantations are meant to conjure realness, to unlock whatever the rock and roll is inside each of you.”

Bassist Pete Wentz also recently stated on his Tumblr blog:

“ think of how much you have changed in 10 years. so have we as a band. we do this because we love to do it. we love our fans. but we are not burger king- we aren’t just putting the toppings on that you want to hear . . .  it is our job as artists to push and change- even if it upsets people. otherwise why make art?”

It’s clear that although the band has taken a somewhat more pop-y approach, they have all but “sold out” to the music industry. Each new song represents something completely different but completely real to the band, and it’s clear that “Rock and Roll” is so much more than a genre of music–it’s a state of mind.

Fall Out Boy has repeatedly done with each release of an album what most bands struggle to do consistently–write and release music from the heart. Whether fans lose faith in the group or remain supportive throughout the changing times does not change the fact that this is the new chapter of Fall Out Boy.

Music makes or breaks a prom. We seem to be past the era of commissioning a band to play for us while the singer croons like a guinea hen to give us some cheesy version of the seasons greatest hits (or at least I think that’s what they used to do, I’ve only seen it in movies after all). Now, we are only limited by space on a computer hard drive to dictate our selections. Why then, people want to know, was our music so dog-gone terrible? DJ “Wack Attack”, as an anonymous student so aptly dubbed him, played music that was “unbearable to listen to, I have a CD in my car that I made in fifth grade of all the music that he played”. Let’s hope this DJ has a day job.

The dance floor was another thing I heard numerous voices speaking up about. Was a projection screen really necessary? The dance floor was lit up from top to bottom because the light from the screen landed onto the crowds. Of course it did dampen down some of the grinders, as one aggravated student recalls “People were grinding like crazy, it died down when they watched the screen, but people were pretty much doing it on the dance floor”. It also took away from the dancing itself. A John Doe describes “I would be dancing and then all of a sudden everyone would stop and stand. Apparently they had a camera pointed at us and everyone would stop to watch these idiots in front of the screen. It was annoying”. It would have been more fun to focus on dancing for entertainment instead of watching television…like we can at home.

Now, none of this is meant to upset anyone. No doubt everyone at the prom had a great memory to take away from it, but perhaps this will warn the later generations of prom-goers what to expect and tell the orchestrators about some stuff they may want to think over for next time.

See Spot run?

Dropouts’ backup plan