I really do not know if I have to blog about this, but I will.
I enjoyed that stock market game, but I agree that the numbers need to change. Or else have it be progressive, that way, it is like the real stock market.
However, it got the point across, that the market is a risky business. The market is not constant, and you need a keen understanding of humans to understand it.
I realized in the middle of the game that if I played mathematically, my team would end up in the top 4, so that is what I did. So... it payed off, Matt and I both got prizes.
But I could not do this in the real world. I mean I could, but I would have a lot of trouble in the long run. The market runs off patterns that I would have to respond to instead of math. That is where the game does not work.
However, the game did accurately represent what would happen in a stock market which was good. And that is why I say it is more important to know people, rather than the market. I noticed people patterns rather than market patterns because the market was so erratic.
The team of Abi and Rehka would stay stagnant almost every time. So I knew that when they made a move, it was because they new something was going to happen. I also so that the team of Mike and Paras would be very active. That meant that when they stayed out of the market, something big was going to happen. So I was able to see what people do, analyze it, and make my guess off of it.
This was really cool to see. My mind was constantly at war with itself, fighting impulse, and using logic. I was enjoying the whole experience. When you gamble, you get a rush. That is what it felt like the whole game. I had a rush that lasted because I was betting with my own money, as well as other people as well. It was a real thrill ride.
I want to thank Mr. Bricker for helping us understand the market better with this game. It was a very good way to show us how the market effects everyone, and how trends can push the market up or down.
If we had more time, I would like to go one step further and map out how the market did each turn as well as individual people. That way we can see the effect that we have on the market in the short run.
That is all for now,
Ian
Friday, December 12, 2008
4th Hour Botanical Gardens
I first want to say the the gardens are FREAKIN' AWESOME!!!!! That was such a fun trip. I would love to visit that place in the spring when everything is blooming! That would be so cool.
Despite this I was very put off by the museum. It was mostly a shopping experience. I did not like that. Plus presentation is everything. And it being winter does not help the museum's cause.
Also, I did not like the "quest" that Mr. Bricker put us on. I thought that took away from the museum. I want to enjoy nature, especially nature I do not get to be around. Having the photo hunt really was a drag and I did not like it.
This made for a bad experience. The dead outdoor gardens mixed with the tourist inspired gift shop feel, with the sprinkling of the photo hunt made this experience awful.
I like that museum, I really do, so this must have been a bad experience for me to have a bad time. So that is what I will focus on. How good becomes bad.
When a good thing gets tarnished with something like work, or commercialism, it becomes tacky and lame. It is no longer fun to do, nor interesting to study. The botanical gardens are meant to inspire and educate us about the natural world. It wants us to recycle and preserve the world so we can have these beautiful animals and plants. Having a photo hunt to do, takes away from this point.
The brain now has a task to accomplish, the brain is now thinking, competition and photos rather than nature and beauty. The museum lost its mysticism when Mr. Bricker put us on the hunt. I do not know what he was thinking.
What I know is, I was able to enjoy the museum a lot more once I did not care about any of the pictures. I wanted to experience plants and wild life that I may never see in my life again. So naturally, I did.
The brain cannot do two things at once well. It needs years and years of practice to do that. So the brain cannot do a photo hunt and enjoy nature at the same time. Now, if the brain is taking pictures to enjoy nature, that is a different story. So the brain has trouble doing two things at once. This makes for a conflict of interests.
I ask the class. What color was the baobab tree, and what makes it special? Then I ask, what was the scientific name of the three plants they took pictures of before the baobab tree? I bet the students that concentrated on pictures rather than the tree can tell the scientific names, but not the color.
Adding in the photo hunt ruins the educational value of the museum.
I love that museum, and recommend it to anyone. But please, take pictures because you want to see nature, not $15.
That is all. Great trip!
Ian
Despite this I was very put off by the museum. It was mostly a shopping experience. I did not like that. Plus presentation is everything. And it being winter does not help the museum's cause.
Also, I did not like the "quest" that Mr. Bricker put us on. I thought that took away from the museum. I want to enjoy nature, especially nature I do not get to be around. Having the photo hunt really was a drag and I did not like it.
This made for a bad experience. The dead outdoor gardens mixed with the tourist inspired gift shop feel, with the sprinkling of the photo hunt made this experience awful.
I like that museum, I really do, so this must have been a bad experience for me to have a bad time. So that is what I will focus on. How good becomes bad.
When a good thing gets tarnished with something like work, or commercialism, it becomes tacky and lame. It is no longer fun to do, nor interesting to study. The botanical gardens are meant to inspire and educate us about the natural world. It wants us to recycle and preserve the world so we can have these beautiful animals and plants. Having a photo hunt to do, takes away from this point.
The brain now has a task to accomplish, the brain is now thinking, competition and photos rather than nature and beauty. The museum lost its mysticism when Mr. Bricker put us on the hunt. I do not know what he was thinking.
What I know is, I was able to enjoy the museum a lot more once I did not care about any of the pictures. I wanted to experience plants and wild life that I may never see in my life again. So naturally, I did.
The brain cannot do two things at once well. It needs years and years of practice to do that. So the brain cannot do a photo hunt and enjoy nature at the same time. Now, if the brain is taking pictures to enjoy nature, that is a different story. So the brain has trouble doing two things at once. This makes for a conflict of interests.
I ask the class. What color was the baobab tree, and what makes it special? Then I ask, what was the scientific name of the three plants they took pictures of before the baobab tree? I bet the students that concentrated on pictures rather than the tree can tell the scientific names, but not the color.
Adding in the photo hunt ruins the educational value of the museum.
I love that museum, and recommend it to anyone. But please, take pictures because you want to see nature, not $15.
That is all. Great trip!
Ian
Blink Essay
Ian Youngs
Robert Bricker & Kristine Kelly
SAGES
10/9/08
Blink Essay
Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink, delves into a very interesting topic of the human mind. The subtitle of the book is “The power of thinking without thinking.” This small phrase talks about the human brain’s ability to respond to situations without consciously doing so. Gladwell refers to this power of the brain as the “adaptive unconscious.” What this means is that a part of your brain analyzes situations and sends a message to your body to respond. The adaptive unconscious does not need a conscious command in order to function. It uses the senses that your body experiences, assesses them, and tells your body to respond. This function of the brain has been used for a long time without the general population knowing it. The adaptive unconscious affects what we buy, how we feel, and how we interpret the world.
One way that the adaptive unconscious is used is advertising. Gladwell mentions different experiments in which different products were tested. The first test was one on margarine. “Margarine came out in the late 1940’s. Unfortunately it was not popular among customers; the product just would not sell. Louis Cheskin, an immigrant from the Ukraine, thought that there must be a reason for this (Gladwell 160).” What was it about margarine that made it so unappealing to the public’s eye?
“Cheskin decided to hold a luncheon where he would pit margarine against butter. But in order to make the margarine undistinguishable, Cheskin colored it yellow, to match the color of butter. After the luncheon was over, the guests were asked to rate everything about the event; including the food. As it turned out the yellow margarine was rated just as high as the butter.”
“Cheskin decided to go further with his experiment. He told the makers of a brand of margarine to name the product Imperial Margarine. This enabled the label artists to use a crown as an emblem. Cheskin also told the makers that the margarine had to be yellow, and that it must be wrapped in foil, as foil was thought to represent high quality. So what would happen if this spread was pitted against regular whit margarine? The answer was that the yellow, impressively packaged margarine won; no contest (Gladwell 160-161).”
This experiment shows us two things. One, our adaptive unconscious is a powerful mechanism. When the color of the margarine, its packaging and name were changed, it was automatically chosen above the regular looking margarine. The adaptive unconscious sensed there was something better about the changed margarine. The name, color, and packaging, all gave the adaptive unconscious good vibes, thus making it acceptable. When the margarine was left unchanged the adaptive unconscious threw out warning signs because it sensed a difference, an overall negative appeal.
Two, our adaptive unconscious can be tricked. When the margarine appeared to be butter, taste tests proved that margarine was just as good. Once the color that differentiated butter from margarine was removed, the margarine became acceptable. Butter was a comfortable commodity to people. The color made them feel “safe” and “happy”. So when the margarine was changed to the “happy” color, people felt that it was safe. Their adaptive unconsciouses were fooled into acceptance. This means that when something “harmful” is disguised as “safe”, people will go near it.
This change in appearance is discussed by Gladwell later on in the chapter. He talks with Davis Masten and Darrel Rhea, two men employed by Cheskin. Their job is to help companies advertise efficiently. Gladwell, Rhea and Masten, travel to a supermarket where the duo shows Gladwell some of the products they have worked on. “Rhea leaned over and picked up a can of 7-Up. “We tested Seven-Up… what we found is that if you add fifteen percent more yellow to the green on this package… [what] people report [is] that the taste experience has a lot more lime or lemon flavor. And people were upset”… Masten picked up a can of Hormel canned meat. “We did this too. We tested the Hormel logo.” He pointed at the tiny sprig of parsley between the r and the m. “That little bit of parsley helps bring freshness to canned food.” (Gladwell 163-164).”
What Masten and Rhea have done is utilize the adaptive unconscious. When buying a product, the first thing we see is the packaging. This first impression must make a positive an impact. When the adaptive unconscious senses something positive, it gives the rest of the body a good, comfortable feeling. So by utilizing different images and colors, a buyer’s opinion is manipulated. Utilization of colors is a technique not only used by marketing firms, but also by artists.
Most everyone knows of the famous artist Pablo Picasso. Picasso was born October 25th, 1881 in a Malaga, a small coastal town in Spain. Skilled in drawing from an early age, Picasso later became a painter. He is most noted for his impressionistic works, which revolutionized the world of art forever. He co-founded the style cubism, for which he would become famous.
Picasso went through two very specific periods in his artistic career. In this time his art reflects his feelings. The two periods were known as the Blue Period and the Rose Period respectively.
Picasso’s Blue Period occurred from 1900-1904. Picasso slipped into a deep depression after the suicide of his dear friend Carlos Casagemas. Soon after hearing of Casagema’s death, Picasso started to paint the majority of his works with a blue and green tint to them. The subject matter was usually morose, and the colors brought out the emotions of the paintings. A portrait of a man picking at a guitar called “The Old Guitarist” is the most notable and iconic work of this period.
The time preceding The Blue Period is known as the Rose Period. This period lasted from 1904-1906. Picasso’s relationship with model Fernande Olivier caused this period to occur. The subject matter is much more festive and jolly, and the colors are brilliant reds, oranges, and pinks. This period is what eventually spawns Picasso’s iconic cubist works.
When an admirer looks at works from these specific periods, he can feel Picasso’s emotions. A sense of despair and angst can be felt when looking at works from the Blue Period, while jollity and joy can be felt from those of the Rose Period. Picasso’s use of specific color schemes helps to bring out these emotions. Subject matter aside, the colors of these paintings is what our adaptive unconscious notices first.
Cooler colors such as blue and green carry a negative message with them, a sense of foreboding and sadness. When the adaptive unconscious looks at these colors, the emotions associated with the colors come out and affect the viewer. So when looking at a picture from the Blue Period the viewer gets a sense of longing and sadness.
The opposite can be said for the Rose Period pictures. The reds and oranges used together correctly bring out happiness and rebirth. They signify warmth and a sense that everything will turn out okay in the end. Again the adaptive unconscious picks up on this and tells the body to react accordingly. For a more “popular” look at the use of adaptive unconscious, we turn to the cinematic mind-teasers, The Matrix Trilogy.
Though the back-story of the Trilogy is quite intriguing, the “nutshell” version will suffice for the purpose of this essay. The Matrix Trilogies takes place in three locations; the Matrix, an extremely large computer program that uses humans for power; the Machine World, the upper layer of the earth which is now run by machines; and Zion, the human city where the survivors of the machine onslaught live. Each of the three locations has a preset color theme that gives the movie its feeling.
In the Matrix, the color theme is green. Everything that takes place in the Matrix is coated in a green tint. From the people to the sky, you get a feeling that you are inside an old-school computer program. The Machine World is colored blue. Like the Matrix, everything here is covered in a blue tint. The machines themselves are bluer than they are silver. Lastly Zion has a red/brown tint. Since Zion is underground and close to the Earth’s core, this is fitting. Most of the humans in Zion are of African-American descent, adding to the color scheme.
Each color gives each location a different feel to it, and the adaptive unconscious senses this. Anytime a character enters the Matrix, the green setting, the viewer gets a sense of falsehood. The adaptive unconscious notices the green of the shot and warns the body. You do not have to be a genius to figure out that the Matrix is not a good place to be. The same can be said of the Machine World. The dark blues of the landscape are caught by the adaptive unconscious, sending warnings to the conscious mind to stay alert because evil lurks in this world. But when adaptive unconscious “sees” the warming reds and browns of Zion, the body relaxes. The viewer knows that while they are in this setting, they are safe and secure, like they are at home.
The adaptive unconscious is in operation throughout the entire movie. It is sending signals whether you should be wary or calm. The last scene of the Trilogy really exemplifies what the adaptive unconscious has done.
The final act takes place in the Matrix. The scene starts out green, as it has for the first portion of the films. Slowly the visual effects team lifts the green tint from the scene, adding in more reds, yellows, oranges, and browns; the colors that signify safety and calm.
Whether the viewer understands the plot does not matter. The adaptive unconscious picks up the color change and send s messages to your body saying, “Relax, do not worry, everything is going to be okay.” If the viewer has the ending of the movie go right over their head, they have had the adaptive unconscious help them out. Now the viewer can understand that the Matrix is not so “artificial” anymore. Now that the “human” colors have been added, change is going to happen.
Whether we like it or not our adaptive unconscious is always at work. It is telling us what to buy, and what to feel. It controls how we think and interpret the world. Colors and pictures help us interpret what is around us. Whether it is to say, “I do not like this,” or “This could be exciting,” the adaptive unconscious is helping us out. How we feel is directly affected by colors because the adaptive unconscious tells us what to feel. What we buy is directly affected by this mechanism. Whatever looks more pleasing, we buy. Whatever causes us to have happy emotions, we buy. Without the adaptive unconscious, we could not be human at all.
Robert Bricker & Kristine Kelly
SAGES
10/9/08
Blink Essay
Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink, delves into a very interesting topic of the human mind. The subtitle of the book is “The power of thinking without thinking.” This small phrase talks about the human brain’s ability to respond to situations without consciously doing so. Gladwell refers to this power of the brain as the “adaptive unconscious.” What this means is that a part of your brain analyzes situations and sends a message to your body to respond. The adaptive unconscious does not need a conscious command in order to function. It uses the senses that your body experiences, assesses them, and tells your body to respond. This function of the brain has been used for a long time without the general population knowing it. The adaptive unconscious affects what we buy, how we feel, and how we interpret the world.
One way that the adaptive unconscious is used is advertising. Gladwell mentions different experiments in which different products were tested. The first test was one on margarine. “Margarine came out in the late 1940’s. Unfortunately it was not popular among customers; the product just would not sell. Louis Cheskin, an immigrant from the Ukraine, thought that there must be a reason for this (Gladwell 160).” What was it about margarine that made it so unappealing to the public’s eye?
“Cheskin decided to hold a luncheon where he would pit margarine against butter. But in order to make the margarine undistinguishable, Cheskin colored it yellow, to match the color of butter. After the luncheon was over, the guests were asked to rate everything about the event; including the food. As it turned out the yellow margarine was rated just as high as the butter.”
“Cheskin decided to go further with his experiment. He told the makers of a brand of margarine to name the product Imperial Margarine. This enabled the label artists to use a crown as an emblem. Cheskin also told the makers that the margarine had to be yellow, and that it must be wrapped in foil, as foil was thought to represent high quality. So what would happen if this spread was pitted against regular whit margarine? The answer was that the yellow, impressively packaged margarine won; no contest (Gladwell 160-161).”
This experiment shows us two things. One, our adaptive unconscious is a powerful mechanism. When the color of the margarine, its packaging and name were changed, it was automatically chosen above the regular looking margarine. The adaptive unconscious sensed there was something better about the changed margarine. The name, color, and packaging, all gave the adaptive unconscious good vibes, thus making it acceptable. When the margarine was left unchanged the adaptive unconscious threw out warning signs because it sensed a difference, an overall negative appeal.
Two, our adaptive unconscious can be tricked. When the margarine appeared to be butter, taste tests proved that margarine was just as good. Once the color that differentiated butter from margarine was removed, the margarine became acceptable. Butter was a comfortable commodity to people. The color made them feel “safe” and “happy”. So when the margarine was changed to the “happy” color, people felt that it was safe. Their adaptive unconsciouses were fooled into acceptance. This means that when something “harmful” is disguised as “safe”, people will go near it.
This change in appearance is discussed by Gladwell later on in the chapter. He talks with Davis Masten and Darrel Rhea, two men employed by Cheskin. Their job is to help companies advertise efficiently. Gladwell, Rhea and Masten, travel to a supermarket where the duo shows Gladwell some of the products they have worked on. “Rhea leaned over and picked up a can of 7-Up. “We tested Seven-Up… what we found is that if you add fifteen percent more yellow to the green on this package… [what] people report [is] that the taste experience has a lot more lime or lemon flavor. And people were upset”… Masten picked up a can of Hormel canned meat. “We did this too. We tested the Hormel logo.” He pointed at the tiny sprig of parsley between the r and the m. “That little bit of parsley helps bring freshness to canned food.” (Gladwell 163-164).”
What Masten and Rhea have done is utilize the adaptive unconscious. When buying a product, the first thing we see is the packaging. This first impression must make a positive an impact. When the adaptive unconscious senses something positive, it gives the rest of the body a good, comfortable feeling. So by utilizing different images and colors, a buyer’s opinion is manipulated. Utilization of colors is a technique not only used by marketing firms, but also by artists.
Most everyone knows of the famous artist Pablo Picasso. Picasso was born October 25th, 1881 in a Malaga, a small coastal town in Spain. Skilled in drawing from an early age, Picasso later became a painter. He is most noted for his impressionistic works, which revolutionized the world of art forever. He co-founded the style cubism, for which he would become famous.
Picasso went through two very specific periods in his artistic career. In this time his art reflects his feelings. The two periods were known as the Blue Period and the Rose Period respectively.
Picasso’s Blue Period occurred from 1900-1904. Picasso slipped into a deep depression after the suicide of his dear friend Carlos Casagemas. Soon after hearing of Casagema’s death, Picasso started to paint the majority of his works with a blue and green tint to them. The subject matter was usually morose, and the colors brought out the emotions of the paintings. A portrait of a man picking at a guitar called “The Old Guitarist” is the most notable and iconic work of this period.
The time preceding The Blue Period is known as the Rose Period. This period lasted from 1904-1906. Picasso’s relationship with model Fernande Olivier caused this period to occur. The subject matter is much more festive and jolly, and the colors are brilliant reds, oranges, and pinks. This period is what eventually spawns Picasso’s iconic cubist works.
When an admirer looks at works from these specific periods, he can feel Picasso’s emotions. A sense of despair and angst can be felt when looking at works from the Blue Period, while jollity and joy can be felt from those of the Rose Period. Picasso’s use of specific color schemes helps to bring out these emotions. Subject matter aside, the colors of these paintings is what our adaptive unconscious notices first.
Cooler colors such as blue and green carry a negative message with them, a sense of foreboding and sadness. When the adaptive unconscious looks at these colors, the emotions associated with the colors come out and affect the viewer. So when looking at a picture from the Blue Period the viewer gets a sense of longing and sadness.
The opposite can be said for the Rose Period pictures. The reds and oranges used together correctly bring out happiness and rebirth. They signify warmth and a sense that everything will turn out okay in the end. Again the adaptive unconscious picks up on this and tells the body to react accordingly. For a more “popular” look at the use of adaptive unconscious, we turn to the cinematic mind-teasers, The Matrix Trilogy.
Though the back-story of the Trilogy is quite intriguing, the “nutshell” version will suffice for the purpose of this essay. The Matrix Trilogies takes place in three locations; the Matrix, an extremely large computer program that uses humans for power; the Machine World, the upper layer of the earth which is now run by machines; and Zion, the human city where the survivors of the machine onslaught live. Each of the three locations has a preset color theme that gives the movie its feeling.
In the Matrix, the color theme is green. Everything that takes place in the Matrix is coated in a green tint. From the people to the sky, you get a feeling that you are inside an old-school computer program. The Machine World is colored blue. Like the Matrix, everything here is covered in a blue tint. The machines themselves are bluer than they are silver. Lastly Zion has a red/brown tint. Since Zion is underground and close to the Earth’s core, this is fitting. Most of the humans in Zion are of African-American descent, adding to the color scheme.
Each color gives each location a different feel to it, and the adaptive unconscious senses this. Anytime a character enters the Matrix, the green setting, the viewer gets a sense of falsehood. The adaptive unconscious notices the green of the shot and warns the body. You do not have to be a genius to figure out that the Matrix is not a good place to be. The same can be said of the Machine World. The dark blues of the landscape are caught by the adaptive unconscious, sending warnings to the conscious mind to stay alert because evil lurks in this world. But when adaptive unconscious “sees” the warming reds and browns of Zion, the body relaxes. The viewer knows that while they are in this setting, they are safe and secure, like they are at home.
The adaptive unconscious is in operation throughout the entire movie. It is sending signals whether you should be wary or calm. The last scene of the Trilogy really exemplifies what the adaptive unconscious has done.
The final act takes place in the Matrix. The scene starts out green, as it has for the first portion of the films. Slowly the visual effects team lifts the green tint from the scene, adding in more reds, yellows, oranges, and browns; the colors that signify safety and calm.
Whether the viewer understands the plot does not matter. The adaptive unconscious picks up the color change and send s messages to your body saying, “Relax, do not worry, everything is going to be okay.” If the viewer has the ending of the movie go right over their head, they have had the adaptive unconscious help them out. Now the viewer can understand that the Matrix is not so “artificial” anymore. Now that the “human” colors have been added, change is going to happen.
Whether we like it or not our adaptive unconscious is always at work. It is telling us what to buy, and what to feel. It controls how we think and interpret the world. Colors and pictures help us interpret what is around us. Whether it is to say, “I do not like this,” or “This could be exciting,” the adaptive unconscious is helping us out. How we feel is directly affected by colors because the adaptive unconscious tells us what to feel. What we buy is directly affected by this mechanism. Whatever looks more pleasing, we buy. Whatever causes us to have happy emotions, we buy. Without the adaptive unconscious, we could not be human at all.
Biography Essay
Ian Youngs
12/12/08
Prof. Bricker
SAGES
Professor Greg Banaszak
Looking for a college is very similar to looking for a serious relationship. You have to check if you are compatible and if you want to stay for a long period of time. It is a difficult process for anyone, but for music majors, it is much more difficult to pick an institution. Unlike most other departments, the majority of music departments are small; you meet people quickly. So you have to make sure that you fit in at the college.
A specific factor that a music major looks for in a college is the teacher he will be taking lessons with. This teacher will be like a second father or mother to the student. So picking the right institution is imperative. And that is why I chose Case Western Reserve University.
Greg Banaszak, the saxophone professor here at Case, is why I chose this school. From the moment I met him, I was amused by him. His style of teaching, his method of listening, and his playing were all unique. I respect that feature about him. I admire him as a person, and look up to him as a saxophonist. But Greg is a very complex individual, and writing a biography of him is not so easy.
One day after my lesson, I asked Greg if I could ask him some serious questions. Greg stopped writing his email, looked right at me and said, “You didn’t get someone pregnant did you?” I choked on my words trying to say “no”. I finally managed to spew out enough words to let Greg know that I wanted to ask him a few questions because I was writing a biography on him. His response shocked me so much, I could have cried.
“No. I don’t have time for things like that.” he said “You know me pretty well, and anything you don’t know, just look up online.”
I did not know what I was supposed to do with that. The person that I was going to write a paper on just said no to a request to ask him questions. But being the savvy person I am, I found a way around it.
I went around to a bunch of Greg’s upper-class students and asked them what they knew of Greg. I was relieved to find that I had gotten enough information to write a decent essay. Using my previous knowledge, excerpts from his students, and a few of Greg’s own stories, I am able to see why my teacher is so special.
Greg Banaszak’s career doesn’t begin until after high school. Greg was accepted into the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut. After his first months at the school, Greg realized that he had a lot of work to do to keep up with the rest of the sax majors at the school. He was not only playing and competing with undergrads, but a handful of graduate students and professionals as well.
Greg was determined to be one of the best. And under the guidance of Jackie McLean, the only student of jazz legend Charlie Parker, Greg attained greatness. Working and practicing day and night, Greg rose to the top of the saxophone studio, and in his senior year became first chair in the esteemed Hartt School Jazz Ensemble.
Graduating cum laude with a B.M., Greg was invited to study in Poland. This was new territory for the saxophone community. Greg Banaszak was the first American saxophonist allowed behind the “Iron Curtain” in communist Poland. While there Greg improved on his already impressive skills and earned his M.M. at the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw; with distinction.
Traveling the world for a bit, Greg was soon invited to the school that would cause him much angst and turmoil. The Centre Musical d’Annecy in France would challenge Greg far more than his previous institutions. His first day at the school, his professors took away his sax. They told Greg, “If you are not able to sing your music, how are you supposed to play it to the best of your ability?”
Flabbergasted and sax-less Greg buckled down and complied. A few years later, Greg emerged from France with an Artists Diploma, showing he had mastered the saxophone. Greg had finally completed his wish, becoming one of the best saxophonists, in the world.
Greg’s profession can only be described by the instrument he plays. His life is saxophone. Greg is a clinician for Selmer saxophones and Vandoren reeds. In the middle of lessons, Greg receives calls from Branford Marsalis, the famous tenor saxophonist, asking if he wants to do a gig next week. Then the next week I find that I do not have lessons because Greg is doing a gig with Branford…in Spain.
Greg also holds three jobs at three different schools, one of them being Case. When Greg opens his planner, it is easy to see how busy he is. He has his whole life scheduled to a “T”. He is booked so far in advance; he has planners that go until 2012. Greg is also happily married. His wife works at the CIM as a flutist.
But the interesting trait about Greg is that, he has enough time for his students. He starts off every lesson asking how our week was, followed by questions about our other classes. Whether Greg genuinely cares or not, you can tell that he cares about the saxophone player in his students. He wants to make sure his students are mentally healthy enough in order to achieve their best at the saxophone. However I believe that Greg really does care about his students. Many of his students, myself included, have received calls asking if we are doing okay, or if we are feeling sick. It is as if Greg loves us as his own kids.
I have asked myself the question, “Why do I admire Greg?” I find Greg Banaszak to be a truly amazing person. He has many of the traits that make a great human being as well as a fabulous musician.
The first trait that I admire about Greg is that he is devoted. When asked why he isn’t teaching at a conservatory, or touring the country, Greg always answers the same way; “Because my students need me more.” Greg could easily throw away his teaching career, but he doesn’t. He has all the talent in the world, and yet stays for his students. I have witnessed Greg push back his schedule to make time for the undergraduate quartet. He told the man on his phone, “These guys just sound too good for me to make it on time. I’ll be fifteen minutes late.” Greg ended up being thirty minutes late that night.
Another trait that Greg has that I admire is humility. There are many pieces on sax that I cannot play. But I attempt them, and fail horribly. However Greg does not look down on me. Instead he sits back in his chair and tells a story of when he played my piece. He tells me what I did well, and what I need to work on. He never mentions that he aced the piece, or that it made him Grammy nominated, he lets me know that he had trouble with it as well. He really emphasizes the fact that he is not some sort of a music god, just a man that practiced a lot.
Also, Greg never attributes his success to himself. He always gives credit to his mentors and teachers. He says that he would not be where he is today if it were not for people like Jackie McLean or Vincent Abato. He constantly gives them credit and respects them fully.
The last thing that I respect Greg for is the way that he lives his life. It is so fascinating to see him when he is teaching, playing, or even listening. You can immediately tell that his mind is immersed in music.
I will spare talking about what Greg thinks when he is playing because I honestly could not tell you. His musical genius is so far beyond mine, that it hurts to think about. But I can let you into his mind when he hears music. Greg is all about the feel of the music.
Greg knows every etude book for sax, as well as the pieces written for it. There is not one thing that Greg does not know about the saxophone. So quite naturally his next step would be to interpret the feel of pieces. So when I take out Eugene Bozza’s Improvisation et Caprice, Greg’s mind starts to work. Greg knows a few things off the bat.
Greg knows that Eugene Bozza wrote the piece in 1952, making it from the post-classical period. This denotes a more rigid playing style, and immediately whips out his metronome. He tells me that I need this. Even though the Improvisation is an improvisation, it has bar lines, meaning Bozza wanted a meter.
Greg also knows that the piece is written in concert D major. This means a lot of sharps for me to play. So Greg has me warm up playing variations of my B major scale. Major scales, minor scales, whole tone scales, Greg has me immerse myself in the key.
The last thing that Greg realizes is the type of player I am. He knows that I can sight read proficiently. He also knows that the metronome will give me problems. So he tells me not to worry about the mistakes I make, and concentrate on my task, the music.
Greg Banaszak told me all of this in a matter of seconds after I told him the piece’s name. He analyzed the piece, the composer, and the student in a matter of seconds. His brain works on another level.
Greg also has the ability of living a structured planned out life. Anyone with a schedule as packed as Greg’s would obviously not have time for an empty gas tank, let alone an interview. But how does Greg do it? How does he live his life through a seriously over packed little black book? The answer is; he knows his limits.
Greg has been living this type of life for most of his adult life. He has grown accustomed to what a busy life is like. His brain skips over all the useless information and processes only the good content. So when Greg hears about a recording session that will take three hours, he knows that he has to show up early and plan to stay late. He knows how recording sessions work, he knows that they always start late, and nothing goes right. So Greg will schedule the session into a slot of five hours instead of three.
Greg, since he is so sought out, is booked well into 2012. So Greg also prioritizes. He knows that his show with James Carter is more important than his gig at the Bop Stop. But he still realizes that his students come before any of this. Greg has to do this in order to maintain a healthy mind. His entire career would fall apart if he did not possess this skill.
The reason Greg is so successful is how his brain works. His work is his play. They are one in the same. You perform your best when you are having fun. And Greg is a performer. So he has fun performing. And he performs on the saxophone, so he made it his work as well. This is the secret to Greg’s success.
Greg’s success is not because he was taught by the only student of Charlie Parker; so were many other students. It is also not because he studied in Poland and France, that has nothing to do with his success either. Greg is successful because he combined what he loved with what he wanted his career to be.
Since Greg is able to perform at the highest level, he is able to teach at his highest level. He loves to perform and be in the spotlight. But Greg also likes that life for his students. He reflects on his own experiences, and wants he students to have the same opportunities. Greg teaches just like he works, and works just like he teaches.
I just had my last lesson with Greg this past Sunday. It did not go as well as I hoped. Greg sensed that I was feeling down and asked what was wrong. I told him that I felt a bit shafted on music this semester. I felt as if all I did was practice his material, and not material for my ensembles.
Greg looked at me and said two words, “So what?” This may sound a bit mean, but I knew what Greg meant. He knows that ensembles aren’t everything, and that life keeps on moving.
Greg also told me the story of how he made it to jazz ensemble at Hartt. He told me that he would not have gotten there if he hadn’t got cut his first three years of college. I left my lesson feeling refreshed, and happy.
That is the power of Greg Banaszak. That is the power of a man who knows who he is, and knows how to run his life. He makes me realize that I made the right choice about coming to Case.
12/12/08
Prof. Bricker
SAGES
Professor Greg Banaszak
Looking for a college is very similar to looking for a serious relationship. You have to check if you are compatible and if you want to stay for a long period of time. It is a difficult process for anyone, but for music majors, it is much more difficult to pick an institution. Unlike most other departments, the majority of music departments are small; you meet people quickly. So you have to make sure that you fit in at the college.
A specific factor that a music major looks for in a college is the teacher he will be taking lessons with. This teacher will be like a second father or mother to the student. So picking the right institution is imperative. And that is why I chose Case Western Reserve University.
Greg Banaszak, the saxophone professor here at Case, is why I chose this school. From the moment I met him, I was amused by him. His style of teaching, his method of listening, and his playing were all unique. I respect that feature about him. I admire him as a person, and look up to him as a saxophonist. But Greg is a very complex individual, and writing a biography of him is not so easy.
One day after my lesson, I asked Greg if I could ask him some serious questions. Greg stopped writing his email, looked right at me and said, “You didn’t get someone pregnant did you?” I choked on my words trying to say “no”. I finally managed to spew out enough words to let Greg know that I wanted to ask him a few questions because I was writing a biography on him. His response shocked me so much, I could have cried.
“No. I don’t have time for things like that.” he said “You know me pretty well, and anything you don’t know, just look up online.”
I did not know what I was supposed to do with that. The person that I was going to write a paper on just said no to a request to ask him questions. But being the savvy person I am, I found a way around it.
I went around to a bunch of Greg’s upper-class students and asked them what they knew of Greg. I was relieved to find that I had gotten enough information to write a decent essay. Using my previous knowledge, excerpts from his students, and a few of Greg’s own stories, I am able to see why my teacher is so special.
Greg Banaszak’s career doesn’t begin until after high school. Greg was accepted into the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut. After his first months at the school, Greg realized that he had a lot of work to do to keep up with the rest of the sax majors at the school. He was not only playing and competing with undergrads, but a handful of graduate students and professionals as well.
Greg was determined to be one of the best. And under the guidance of Jackie McLean, the only student of jazz legend Charlie Parker, Greg attained greatness. Working and practicing day and night, Greg rose to the top of the saxophone studio, and in his senior year became first chair in the esteemed Hartt School Jazz Ensemble.
Graduating cum laude with a B.M., Greg was invited to study in Poland. This was new territory for the saxophone community. Greg Banaszak was the first American saxophonist allowed behind the “Iron Curtain” in communist Poland. While there Greg improved on his already impressive skills and earned his M.M. at the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw; with distinction.
Traveling the world for a bit, Greg was soon invited to the school that would cause him much angst and turmoil. The Centre Musical d’Annecy in France would challenge Greg far more than his previous institutions. His first day at the school, his professors took away his sax. They told Greg, “If you are not able to sing your music, how are you supposed to play it to the best of your ability?”
Flabbergasted and sax-less Greg buckled down and complied. A few years later, Greg emerged from France with an Artists Diploma, showing he had mastered the saxophone. Greg had finally completed his wish, becoming one of the best saxophonists, in the world.
Greg’s profession can only be described by the instrument he plays. His life is saxophone. Greg is a clinician for Selmer saxophones and Vandoren reeds. In the middle of lessons, Greg receives calls from Branford Marsalis, the famous tenor saxophonist, asking if he wants to do a gig next week. Then the next week I find that I do not have lessons because Greg is doing a gig with Branford…in Spain.
Greg also holds three jobs at three different schools, one of them being Case. When Greg opens his planner, it is easy to see how busy he is. He has his whole life scheduled to a “T”. He is booked so far in advance; he has planners that go until 2012. Greg is also happily married. His wife works at the CIM as a flutist.
But the interesting trait about Greg is that, he has enough time for his students. He starts off every lesson asking how our week was, followed by questions about our other classes. Whether Greg genuinely cares or not, you can tell that he cares about the saxophone player in his students. He wants to make sure his students are mentally healthy enough in order to achieve their best at the saxophone. However I believe that Greg really does care about his students. Many of his students, myself included, have received calls asking if we are doing okay, or if we are feeling sick. It is as if Greg loves us as his own kids.
I have asked myself the question, “Why do I admire Greg?” I find Greg Banaszak to be a truly amazing person. He has many of the traits that make a great human being as well as a fabulous musician.
The first trait that I admire about Greg is that he is devoted. When asked why he isn’t teaching at a conservatory, or touring the country, Greg always answers the same way; “Because my students need me more.” Greg could easily throw away his teaching career, but he doesn’t. He has all the talent in the world, and yet stays for his students. I have witnessed Greg push back his schedule to make time for the undergraduate quartet. He told the man on his phone, “These guys just sound too good for me to make it on time. I’ll be fifteen minutes late.” Greg ended up being thirty minutes late that night.
Another trait that Greg has that I admire is humility. There are many pieces on sax that I cannot play. But I attempt them, and fail horribly. However Greg does not look down on me. Instead he sits back in his chair and tells a story of when he played my piece. He tells me what I did well, and what I need to work on. He never mentions that he aced the piece, or that it made him Grammy nominated, he lets me know that he had trouble with it as well. He really emphasizes the fact that he is not some sort of a music god, just a man that practiced a lot.
Also, Greg never attributes his success to himself. He always gives credit to his mentors and teachers. He says that he would not be where he is today if it were not for people like Jackie McLean or Vincent Abato. He constantly gives them credit and respects them fully.
The last thing that I respect Greg for is the way that he lives his life. It is so fascinating to see him when he is teaching, playing, or even listening. You can immediately tell that his mind is immersed in music.
I will spare talking about what Greg thinks when he is playing because I honestly could not tell you. His musical genius is so far beyond mine, that it hurts to think about. But I can let you into his mind when he hears music. Greg is all about the feel of the music.
Greg knows every etude book for sax, as well as the pieces written for it. There is not one thing that Greg does not know about the saxophone. So quite naturally his next step would be to interpret the feel of pieces. So when I take out Eugene Bozza’s Improvisation et Caprice, Greg’s mind starts to work. Greg knows a few things off the bat.
Greg knows that Eugene Bozza wrote the piece in 1952, making it from the post-classical period. This denotes a more rigid playing style, and immediately whips out his metronome. He tells me that I need this. Even though the Improvisation is an improvisation, it has bar lines, meaning Bozza wanted a meter.
Greg also knows that the piece is written in concert D major. This means a lot of sharps for me to play. So Greg has me warm up playing variations of my B major scale. Major scales, minor scales, whole tone scales, Greg has me immerse myself in the key.
The last thing that Greg realizes is the type of player I am. He knows that I can sight read proficiently. He also knows that the metronome will give me problems. So he tells me not to worry about the mistakes I make, and concentrate on my task, the music.
Greg Banaszak told me all of this in a matter of seconds after I told him the piece’s name. He analyzed the piece, the composer, and the student in a matter of seconds. His brain works on another level.
Greg also has the ability of living a structured planned out life. Anyone with a schedule as packed as Greg’s would obviously not have time for an empty gas tank, let alone an interview. But how does Greg do it? How does he live his life through a seriously over packed little black book? The answer is; he knows his limits.
Greg has been living this type of life for most of his adult life. He has grown accustomed to what a busy life is like. His brain skips over all the useless information and processes only the good content. So when Greg hears about a recording session that will take three hours, he knows that he has to show up early and plan to stay late. He knows how recording sessions work, he knows that they always start late, and nothing goes right. So Greg will schedule the session into a slot of five hours instead of three.
Greg, since he is so sought out, is booked well into 2012. So Greg also prioritizes. He knows that his show with James Carter is more important than his gig at the Bop Stop. But he still realizes that his students come before any of this. Greg has to do this in order to maintain a healthy mind. His entire career would fall apart if he did not possess this skill.
The reason Greg is so successful is how his brain works. His work is his play. They are one in the same. You perform your best when you are having fun. And Greg is a performer. So he has fun performing. And he performs on the saxophone, so he made it his work as well. This is the secret to Greg’s success.
Greg’s success is not because he was taught by the only student of Charlie Parker; so were many other students. It is also not because he studied in Poland and France, that has nothing to do with his success either. Greg is successful because he combined what he loved with what he wanted his career to be.
Since Greg is able to perform at the highest level, he is able to teach at his highest level. He loves to perform and be in the spotlight. But Greg also likes that life for his students. He reflects on his own experiences, and wants he students to have the same opportunities. Greg teaches just like he works, and works just like he teaches.
I just had my last lesson with Greg this past Sunday. It did not go as well as I hoped. Greg sensed that I was feeling down and asked what was wrong. I told him that I felt a bit shafted on music this semester. I felt as if all I did was practice his material, and not material for my ensembles.
Greg looked at me and said two words, “So what?” This may sound a bit mean, but I knew what Greg meant. He knows that ensembles aren’t everything, and that life keeps on moving.
Greg also told me the story of how he made it to jazz ensemble at Hartt. He told me that he would not have gotten there if he hadn’t got cut his first three years of college. I left my lesson feeling refreshed, and happy.
That is the power of Greg Banaszak. That is the power of a man who knows who he is, and knows how to run his life. He makes me realize that I made the right choice about coming to Case.
1st Semester Things
I enjoyed my first semester here. Case was really never my number 1 school. It would swim around in the 5 to 2 range, but it could never hit one. So this first semester was like testing the water.
I found that this is the school for me. I was happy with everything that I could control. The use of SIS, running around campus for access problems, and useless classes, all had their impact on me. But overall, I am happy that I came here. I am in a wonderful music program with wonderful staff and peers. I love my job, and my co workers. I love the freedom and the campus feel. Life here is great.
I still miss home and everything, but I really do enjoy life here. But I have one moment that sticks out in my mind. It was the end of October, and the night before Halloween.
I was in the music library in Denison, making note cards for my Latin class. I had finished 180 of the 200 I brought and thought I could do 20 and once. I was right. And in fact, I could have done a bit more. I had cut off the tip of my thumb.
Most reactions would go with fix my finger! Mine was different. My first thought was to get all the music and fliers off the table. Then it was check for spatter. Then it was fix my thumb.
I went to the bathroom and assessed the situation. I saw no bone, but I had cut deep. I had no control and had to gain some of it back. So, I calmed down and was able to call for help.
6 weeks later, I can see that my thumb is healed very well, but I'll have a big scar. Oh well. Life goes on, but at least I can still play sax. So everything is okay.
This memory is in my mind because it shows me perfectly. I get too cocky, do something stupid, almost lose it, and then calm down, finally to have the problem fixed. I guess I really haven't changed at all. College has done nothing to my personality. furthering my love of this college. I can just be me, and it is fine.
Signing out,
Ian
I found that this is the school for me. I was happy with everything that I could control. The use of SIS, running around campus for access problems, and useless classes, all had their impact on me. But overall, I am happy that I came here. I am in a wonderful music program with wonderful staff and peers. I love my job, and my co workers. I love the freedom and the campus feel. Life here is great.
I still miss home and everything, but I really do enjoy life here. But I have one moment that sticks out in my mind. It was the end of October, and the night before Halloween.
I was in the music library in Denison, making note cards for my Latin class. I had finished 180 of the 200 I brought and thought I could do 20 and once. I was right. And in fact, I could have done a bit more. I had cut off the tip of my thumb.
Most reactions would go with fix my finger! Mine was different. My first thought was to get all the music and fliers off the table. Then it was check for spatter. Then it was fix my thumb.
I went to the bathroom and assessed the situation. I saw no bone, but I had cut deep. I had no control and had to gain some of it back. So, I calmed down and was able to call for help.
6 weeks later, I can see that my thumb is healed very well, but I'll have a big scar. Oh well. Life goes on, but at least I can still play sax. So everything is okay.
This memory is in my mind because it shows me perfectly. I get too cocky, do something stupid, almost lose it, and then calm down, finally to have the problem fixed. I guess I really haven't changed at all. College has done nothing to my personality. furthering my love of this college. I can just be me, and it is fine.
Signing out,
Ian
Monday, November 17, 2008
4th Hour: Playing in a Concert That You Don't Want To
First things first, do not misinterpret this, I love playing my sax. But there are sometimes when I wish playing would be a bit more fun.
For example: I recently played in a concert for the Case Jazz Ensemble II. Now I basically live off jazz music. In fact I believe that I am very well versed in the field (at least for listening). So in short I love jazz.
But I did not want to play at this concert. The entire jazz ensemble was smushed onto a stage that could barely fit a small band. And ,oh yeah, we are grossly over-staffed, which did not help the situation. In a nutshell I was not happy.
So how does this relate to life of the mind? I was thinking and I believe that the environment that you play in greatly affects how a group sounds. That night our group sounded smushed and cramped. We did not have our usual "big" sound. We also, however, played a lot tighter due to the closeness of everyone.
I know this from experience. When a group plays close together, they can hear each other very well. This makes it easier for everyone to fix their own mistakes. This comes at a cost. The cost is comfortability. When you are shoulder to shoulder with someone you don't really know an awkward situation arises. It is not fun. And it affects your playing.
I do not think that Jazz I is necessarily better than Jazz II, I think that they rehearse in a better environment. Where they are all close, but comfortable. This is why they sound both loose and tight at the same time.
The mind is affected by its surrounding. When you see a steak served on classy china with oregano and parsley in a lovely Bernays sauce your brain says, "that looks delicious!". But when that same steak is served on a trash lid with ketchup your brain think exactly the opposite. So presentation is everything.
So when I walked into that room, I saw a small staged crammed with people I was not familiar with. I was neither comfortable or happy. This affected my playing. In fact during one of my solos, I started out very angry and fast. My brain told my fingers that I needed to get out some aggression.
After the angry part of my solo, I settled down and grooved a lot more. I was able to close my eyes and enjoy the music that I was making with the people around me. It was really cool to hear my solo morph from short angry bursts to long and drawn out phrasings.
So remember this always. When you have a wedding or a party or a shindig of any kind, make sure the musicians are completely comfortable and relaxed. That way they can maximize their talent and play well for all the guests.
That is all. =)
Ian
For example: I recently played in a concert for the Case Jazz Ensemble II. Now I basically live off jazz music. In fact I believe that I am very well versed in the field (at least for listening). So in short I love jazz.
But I did not want to play at this concert. The entire jazz ensemble was smushed onto a stage that could barely fit a small band. And ,oh yeah, we are grossly over-staffed, which did not help the situation. In a nutshell I was not happy.
So how does this relate to life of the mind? I was thinking and I believe that the environment that you play in greatly affects how a group sounds. That night our group sounded smushed and cramped. We did not have our usual "big" sound. We also, however, played a lot tighter due to the closeness of everyone.
I know this from experience. When a group plays close together, they can hear each other very well. This makes it easier for everyone to fix their own mistakes. This comes at a cost. The cost is comfortability. When you are shoulder to shoulder with someone you don't really know an awkward situation arises. It is not fun. And it affects your playing.
I do not think that Jazz I is necessarily better than Jazz II, I think that they rehearse in a better environment. Where they are all close, but comfortable. This is why they sound both loose and tight at the same time.
The mind is affected by its surrounding. When you see a steak served on classy china with oregano and parsley in a lovely Bernays sauce your brain says, "that looks delicious!". But when that same steak is served on a trash lid with ketchup your brain think exactly the opposite. So presentation is everything.
So when I walked into that room, I saw a small staged crammed with people I was not familiar with. I was neither comfortable or happy. This affected my playing. In fact during one of my solos, I started out very angry and fast. My brain told my fingers that I needed to get out some aggression.
After the angry part of my solo, I settled down and grooved a lot more. I was able to close my eyes and enjoy the music that I was making with the people around me. It was really cool to hear my solo morph from short angry bursts to long and drawn out phrasings.
So remember this always. When you have a wedding or a party or a shindig of any kind, make sure the musicians are completely comfortable and relaxed. That way they can maximize their talent and play well for all the guests.
That is all. =)
Ian
Severance Hall
For one of my fourth hour I chose to go to a performance at Severance Hall. I went with my family who came up that weekend.
The music that would be played was a piece entitled "Seven Haikus" and Mozart's Great Mass in C Minor. I must say that I was very disappointed. I thought that I would be blown away, but I was left sorely mistaken.
I am not sure why I thought I would like this concert. I know a reason that I went was to spend time with my parents, but still I am not a huge fan of classical music. But I thought since it was in a minor key I would give it a shot.
I was sorely wrong.
The piece that was played before the Mozart was called "Seven Haikus". It was awful. I was trying really hard to make out some music from it. But I failed. Nothing about that piece interested me, at all. I really tried too. I wanted to find a shred of musicality, but no luck.
The piece was mainly atonal. It seemed like it was written by a child, with no sense of musicality. I mean even the featured piano was awful. I remember turning around and looking at my mom and saying "I paid for this?". It was not good.
So after intermission I got my hopes up about the Mozart. Again I was let down. The first movement was in minor, but the rest was definitely major. It was boring. I had more fun translating the Latin text rather than listening to the music. I had trouble staying awake, I honestly tried everything. Biting my lip, fidgeting, conducting, nothing seemed to work.
Do not get me wrong, the Cleveland Orchestra is sick nasty, I would give body parts to be in it. But these pieces didn't do anything for me.
So how does this relate to life of the mind. Well for mind, I was trying to find any conceivable way to make this experience interesting. I was so bored out of my mind, that it was hard to make it work. So I really cannot write about that.
But I know what the musicians minds were thinking. A group at the level that the CO is at is astounding. They no longer have to think "how do I play this note?". They are now thinking, "how does my part affect everyone else?". This is because the mind has "turned off". Thinking is no longer an option. The adaptive unconscious takes over.
The CO knows all their parts so well that they can have their adaptive unconscious take over and play for them. I think this is why they sound so good. It is because they no longer think about playing, they know that they can play. All these musicians have to do is listen to each other. That is how they are so good. Knowing that you have a crucial note in a chord is more important that a gliss. This is why the CO kicks butt.
I realize that this is loosely related, but it will become clearer in another blog. It is very different listening to a group play music than it is to actually play it. Now that is a great concept to look at.
I am out for now.
Ian
The music that would be played was a piece entitled "Seven Haikus" and Mozart's Great Mass in C Minor. I must say that I was very disappointed. I thought that I would be blown away, but I was left sorely mistaken.
I am not sure why I thought I would like this concert. I know a reason that I went was to spend time with my parents, but still I am not a huge fan of classical music. But I thought since it was in a minor key I would give it a shot.
I was sorely wrong.
The piece that was played before the Mozart was called "Seven Haikus". It was awful. I was trying really hard to make out some music from it. But I failed. Nothing about that piece interested me, at all. I really tried too. I wanted to find a shred of musicality, but no luck.
The piece was mainly atonal. It seemed like it was written by a child, with no sense of musicality. I mean even the featured piano was awful. I remember turning around and looking at my mom and saying "I paid for this?". It was not good.
So after intermission I got my hopes up about the Mozart. Again I was let down. The first movement was in minor, but the rest was definitely major. It was boring. I had more fun translating the Latin text rather than listening to the music. I had trouble staying awake, I honestly tried everything. Biting my lip, fidgeting, conducting, nothing seemed to work.
Do not get me wrong, the Cleveland Orchestra is sick nasty, I would give body parts to be in it. But these pieces didn't do anything for me.
So how does this relate to life of the mind. Well for mind, I was trying to find any conceivable way to make this experience interesting. I was so bored out of my mind, that it was hard to make it work. So I really cannot write about that.
But I know what the musicians minds were thinking. A group at the level that the CO is at is astounding. They no longer have to think "how do I play this note?". They are now thinking, "how does my part affect everyone else?". This is because the mind has "turned off". Thinking is no longer an option. The adaptive unconscious takes over.
The CO knows all their parts so well that they can have their adaptive unconscious take over and play for them. I think this is why they sound so good. It is because they no longer think about playing, they know that they can play. All these musicians have to do is listen to each other. That is how they are so good. Knowing that you have a crucial note in a chord is more important that a gliss. This is why the CO kicks butt.
I realize that this is loosely related, but it will become clearer in another blog. It is very different listening to a group play music than it is to actually play it. Now that is a great concept to look at.
I am out for now.
Ian
Blink Essay: Color Schemes
Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink, delves into a very interesting topic of the human mind. The subtitle of the book is “The power of thinking without thinking.” This small phrase talks about the human brain’s ability to respond to situations without consciously doing so. Gladwell refers to this power of the brain as the “adaptive unconscious.” What this means is that a part of your brain analyzes situations and sends a message to your body to respond. The adaptive unconscious does not need a conscious command in order to function. It uses the senses that your body experiences, assesses them, and tells your body to respond. This function of the brain has been used for a long time without the general population knowing it. The adaptive unconscious affects what we buy, how we feel, and how we interpret the world.
One way that the adaptive unconscious is used is advertising. Gladwell mentions different experiments in which different products were tested. The first test was one on margarine. “Margarine came out in the late 1940’s. Unfortunately it was not popular among customers; the product just would not sell. Louis Cheskin, an immigrant from the Ukraine, thought that there must be a reason for this (Gladwell 160).” What was it about margarine that made it so unappealing to the public’s eye?
“Cheskin decided to hold a luncheon where he would pit margarine against butter. But in order to make the margarine undistinguishable, Cheskin colored it yellow, to match the color of butter. After the luncheon was over, the guests were asked to rate everything about the event; including the food. As it turned out the yellow margarine was rated just as high as the butter.”
“Cheskin decided to go further with his experiment. He told the makers of a brand of margarine to name the product Imperial Margarine. This enabled the label artists to use a crown as an emblem. Cheskin also told the makers that the margarine had to be yellow, and that it must be wrapped in foil, as foil was thought to represent high quality. So what would happen if this spread was pitted against regular whit margarine? The answer was that the yellow, impressively packaged margarine won; no contest (Gladwell 160-161).”
This experiment shows us two things. One, our adaptive unconscious is a powerful mechanism. When the color of the margarine, its packaging and name were changed, it was automatically chosen above the regular looking margarine. The adaptive unconscious sensed there was something better about the changed margarine. The name, color, and packaging, all gave the adaptive unconscious good vibes, thus making it acceptable. When the margarine was left unchanged the adaptive unconscious threw out warning signs because it sensed a difference, an overall negative appeal.
Two, our adaptive unconscious can be tricked. When the margarine appeared to be butter, taste tests proved that margarine was just as good. Once the color that differentiated butter from margarine was removed, the margarine became acceptable. Butter was a comfortable commodity to people. The color made them feel “safe” and “happy”. So when the margarine was changed to the “happy” color, people felt that it was safe. Their adaptive unconsciouses were fooled into acceptance. This means that when something “harmful” is disguised as “safe”, people will go near it.
This change in appearance is discussed by Gladwell later on in the chapter. He talks with Davis Masten and Darrel Rhea, two men employed by Cheskin. Their job is to help companies advertise efficiently. Gladwell, Rhea and Masten, travel to a supermarket where the duo shows Gladwell some of the products they have worked on. “Rhea leaned over and picked up a can of 7-Up. “We tested Seven-Up… what we found is that if you add fifteen percent more yellow to the green on this package… [what] people report [is] that the taste experience has a lot more lime or lemon flavor. And people were upset”… Masten picked up a can of Hormel canned meat. “We did this too. We tested the Hormel logo.” He pointed at the tiny sprig of parsley between the r and the m. “That little bit of parsley helps bring freshness to canned food.” (Gladwell 163-164).”
What Masten and Rhea have done is utilize the adaptive unconscious. When buying a product, the first thing we see is the packaging. This first impression must make a positive an impact. When the adaptive unconscious senses something positive, it gives the rest of the body a good, comfortable feeling. So by utilizing different images and colors, a buyer’s opinion is manipulated. Utilization of colors is a technique not only used by marketing firms, but also by artists.
Most everyone knows of the famous artist Pablo Picasso. Picasso was born October 25th, 1881 in a Malaga, a small coastal town in Spain. Skilled in drawing from an early age, Picasso later became a painter. He is most noted for his impressionistic works, which revolutionized the world of art forever. He co-founded the style cubism, for which he would become famous.
Picasso went through two very specific periods in his artistic career. In this time his art reflects his feelings. The two periods were known as the Blue Period and the Rose Period respectively.
Picasso’s Blue Period occurred from 1900-1904. Picasso slipped into a deep depression after the suicide of his dear friend Carlos Casagemas. Soon after hearing of Casagema’s death, Picasso started to paint the majority of his works with a blue and green tint to them. The subject matter was usually morose, and the colors brought out the emotions of the paintings. A portrait of a man picking at a guitar called “The Old Guitarist” is the most notable and iconic work of this period.
The time preceding The Blue Period is known as the Rose Period. This period lasted from 1904-1906. Picasso’s relationship with model Fernande Olivier caused this period to occur. The subject matter is much more festive and jolly, and the colors are brilliant reds, oranges, and pinks. This period is what eventually spawns Picasso’s iconic cubist works.
When an admirer looks at works from these specific periods, he can feel Picasso’s emotions. A sense of despair and angst can be felt when looking at works from the Blue Period, while jollity and joy can be felt from those of the Rose Period. Picasso’s use of specific color schemes helps to bring out these emotions. Subject matter aside, the colors of these paintings is what our adaptive unconscious notices first.
Cooler colors such as blue and green carry a negative message with them, a sense of foreboding and sadness. When the adaptive unconscious looks at these colors, the emotions associated with the colors come out and affect the viewer. So when looking at a picture from the Blue Period the viewer gets a sense of longing and sadness.
The opposite can be said for the Rose Period pictures. The reds and oranges used together correctly bring out happiness and rebirth. They signify warmth and a sense that everything will turn out okay in the end. Again the adaptive unconscious picks up on this and tells the body to react accordingly. For a more “popular” look at the use of adaptive unconscious, we turn to the cinematic mind-teasers, The Matrix Trilogy.
Though the back-story of the Trilogy is quite intriguing, the “nutshell” version will suffice for the purpose of this essay. The Matrix Trilogies takes place in three locations; the Matrix, an extremely large computer program that uses humans for power; the Machine World, the upper layer of the earth which is now run by machines; and Zion, the human city where the survivors of the machine onslaught live. Each of the three locations has a preset color theme that gives the movie its feeling.
In the Matrix, the color theme is green. Everything that takes place in the Matrix is coated in a green tint. From the people to the sky, you get a feeling that you are inside an old-school computer program. The Machine World is colored blue. Like the Matrix, everything here is covered in a blue tint. The machines themselves are bluer than they are silver. Lastly Zion has a red/brown tint. Since Zion is underground and close to the Earth’s core, this is fitting. Most of the humans in Zion are of African-American descent, adding to the color scheme.
Each color gives each location a different feel to it, and the adaptive unconscious senses this. Anytime a character enters the Matrix, the green setting, the viewer gets a sense of falsehood. The adaptive unconscious notices the green of the shot and warns the body. You do not have to be a genius to figure out that the Matrix is not a good place to be. The same can be said of the Machine World. The dark blues of the landscape are caught by the adaptive unconscious, sending warnings to the conscious mind to stay alert because evil lurks in this world. But when adaptive unconscious “sees” the warming reds and browns of Zion, the body relaxes. The viewer knows that while they are in this setting, they are safe and secure, like they are at home.
The adaptive unconscious is in operation throughout the entire movie. It is sending signals whether you should be wary or calm. The last scene of the Trilogy really exemplifies what the adaptive unconscious has done.
The final act takes place in the Matrix. The scene starts out green, as it has for the first portion of the films. Slowly the visual effects team lifts the green tint from the scene, adding in more reds, yellows, oranges, and browns; the colors that signify safety and calm.
Whether the viewer understands the plot does not matter. The adaptive unconscious picks up the color change and send s messages to your body saying, “Relax, do not worry, everything is going to be okay.” If the viewer has the ending of the movie go right over their head, they have had the adaptive unconscious help them out. Now the viewer can understand that the Matrix is not so “artificial” anymore. Now that the “human” colors have been added, change is going to happen.
Whether we like it or not our adaptive unconscious is always at work. It is telling us what to buy, and what to feel. It controls how we think and interpret the world. Colors and pictures help us interpret what is around us. Whether it is to say, “I do not like this,” or “This could be exciting,” the adaptive unconscious is helping us out. How we feel is directly affected by colors because the adaptive unconscious tells us what to feel. What we buy is directly affected by this mechanism. Whatever looks more pleasing, we buy. Whatever causes us to have happy emotions, we buy. Without the adaptive unconscious, we could not be human at all.
One way that the adaptive unconscious is used is advertising. Gladwell mentions different experiments in which different products were tested. The first test was one on margarine. “Margarine came out in the late 1940’s. Unfortunately it was not popular among customers; the product just would not sell. Louis Cheskin, an immigrant from the Ukraine, thought that there must be a reason for this (Gladwell 160).” What was it about margarine that made it so unappealing to the public’s eye?
“Cheskin decided to hold a luncheon where he would pit margarine against butter. But in order to make the margarine undistinguishable, Cheskin colored it yellow, to match the color of butter. After the luncheon was over, the guests were asked to rate everything about the event; including the food. As it turned out the yellow margarine was rated just as high as the butter.”
“Cheskin decided to go further with his experiment. He told the makers of a brand of margarine to name the product Imperial Margarine. This enabled the label artists to use a crown as an emblem. Cheskin also told the makers that the margarine had to be yellow, and that it must be wrapped in foil, as foil was thought to represent high quality. So what would happen if this spread was pitted against regular whit margarine? The answer was that the yellow, impressively packaged margarine won; no contest (Gladwell 160-161).”
This experiment shows us two things. One, our adaptive unconscious is a powerful mechanism. When the color of the margarine, its packaging and name were changed, it was automatically chosen above the regular looking margarine. The adaptive unconscious sensed there was something better about the changed margarine. The name, color, and packaging, all gave the adaptive unconscious good vibes, thus making it acceptable. When the margarine was left unchanged the adaptive unconscious threw out warning signs because it sensed a difference, an overall negative appeal.
Two, our adaptive unconscious can be tricked. When the margarine appeared to be butter, taste tests proved that margarine was just as good. Once the color that differentiated butter from margarine was removed, the margarine became acceptable. Butter was a comfortable commodity to people. The color made them feel “safe” and “happy”. So when the margarine was changed to the “happy” color, people felt that it was safe. Their adaptive unconsciouses were fooled into acceptance. This means that when something “harmful” is disguised as “safe”, people will go near it.
This change in appearance is discussed by Gladwell later on in the chapter. He talks with Davis Masten and Darrel Rhea, two men employed by Cheskin. Their job is to help companies advertise efficiently. Gladwell, Rhea and Masten, travel to a supermarket where the duo shows Gladwell some of the products they have worked on. “Rhea leaned over and picked up a can of 7-Up. “We tested Seven-Up… what we found is that if you add fifteen percent more yellow to the green on this package… [what] people report [is] that the taste experience has a lot more lime or lemon flavor. And people were upset”… Masten picked up a can of Hormel canned meat. “We did this too. We tested the Hormel logo.” He pointed at the tiny sprig of parsley between the r and the m. “That little bit of parsley helps bring freshness to canned food.” (Gladwell 163-164).”
What Masten and Rhea have done is utilize the adaptive unconscious. When buying a product, the first thing we see is the packaging. This first impression must make a positive an impact. When the adaptive unconscious senses something positive, it gives the rest of the body a good, comfortable feeling. So by utilizing different images and colors, a buyer’s opinion is manipulated. Utilization of colors is a technique not only used by marketing firms, but also by artists.
Most everyone knows of the famous artist Pablo Picasso. Picasso was born October 25th, 1881 in a Malaga, a small coastal town in Spain. Skilled in drawing from an early age, Picasso later became a painter. He is most noted for his impressionistic works, which revolutionized the world of art forever. He co-founded the style cubism, for which he would become famous.
Picasso went through two very specific periods in his artistic career. In this time his art reflects his feelings. The two periods were known as the Blue Period and the Rose Period respectively.
Picasso’s Blue Period occurred from 1900-1904. Picasso slipped into a deep depression after the suicide of his dear friend Carlos Casagemas. Soon after hearing of Casagema’s death, Picasso started to paint the majority of his works with a blue and green tint to them. The subject matter was usually morose, and the colors brought out the emotions of the paintings. A portrait of a man picking at a guitar called “The Old Guitarist” is the most notable and iconic work of this period.
The time preceding The Blue Period is known as the Rose Period. This period lasted from 1904-1906. Picasso’s relationship with model Fernande Olivier caused this period to occur. The subject matter is much more festive and jolly, and the colors are brilliant reds, oranges, and pinks. This period is what eventually spawns Picasso’s iconic cubist works.
When an admirer looks at works from these specific periods, he can feel Picasso’s emotions. A sense of despair and angst can be felt when looking at works from the Blue Period, while jollity and joy can be felt from those of the Rose Period. Picasso’s use of specific color schemes helps to bring out these emotions. Subject matter aside, the colors of these paintings is what our adaptive unconscious notices first.
Cooler colors such as blue and green carry a negative message with them, a sense of foreboding and sadness. When the adaptive unconscious looks at these colors, the emotions associated with the colors come out and affect the viewer. So when looking at a picture from the Blue Period the viewer gets a sense of longing and sadness.
The opposite can be said for the Rose Period pictures. The reds and oranges used together correctly bring out happiness and rebirth. They signify warmth and a sense that everything will turn out okay in the end. Again the adaptive unconscious picks up on this and tells the body to react accordingly. For a more “popular” look at the use of adaptive unconscious, we turn to the cinematic mind-teasers, The Matrix Trilogy.
Though the back-story of the Trilogy is quite intriguing, the “nutshell” version will suffice for the purpose of this essay. The Matrix Trilogies takes place in three locations; the Matrix, an extremely large computer program that uses humans for power; the Machine World, the upper layer of the earth which is now run by machines; and Zion, the human city where the survivors of the machine onslaught live. Each of the three locations has a preset color theme that gives the movie its feeling.
In the Matrix, the color theme is green. Everything that takes place in the Matrix is coated in a green tint. From the people to the sky, you get a feeling that you are inside an old-school computer program. The Machine World is colored blue. Like the Matrix, everything here is covered in a blue tint. The machines themselves are bluer than they are silver. Lastly Zion has a red/brown tint. Since Zion is underground and close to the Earth’s core, this is fitting. Most of the humans in Zion are of African-American descent, adding to the color scheme.
Each color gives each location a different feel to it, and the adaptive unconscious senses this. Anytime a character enters the Matrix, the green setting, the viewer gets a sense of falsehood. The adaptive unconscious notices the green of the shot and warns the body. You do not have to be a genius to figure out that the Matrix is not a good place to be. The same can be said of the Machine World. The dark blues of the landscape are caught by the adaptive unconscious, sending warnings to the conscious mind to stay alert because evil lurks in this world. But when adaptive unconscious “sees” the warming reds and browns of Zion, the body relaxes. The viewer knows that while they are in this setting, they are safe and secure, like they are at home.
The adaptive unconscious is in operation throughout the entire movie. It is sending signals whether you should be wary or calm. The last scene of the Trilogy really exemplifies what the adaptive unconscious has done.
The final act takes place in the Matrix. The scene starts out green, as it has for the first portion of the films. Slowly the visual effects team lifts the green tint from the scene, adding in more reds, yellows, oranges, and browns; the colors that signify safety and calm.
Whether the viewer understands the plot does not matter. The adaptive unconscious picks up the color change and send s messages to your body saying, “Relax, do not worry, everything is going to be okay.” If the viewer has the ending of the movie go right over their head, they have had the adaptive unconscious help them out. Now the viewer can understand that the Matrix is not so “artificial” anymore. Now that the “human” colors have been added, change is going to happen.
Whether we like it or not our adaptive unconscious is always at work. It is telling us what to buy, and what to feel. It controls how we think and interpret the world. Colors and pictures help us interpret what is around us. Whether it is to say, “I do not like this,” or “This could be exciting,” the adaptive unconscious is helping us out. How we feel is directly affected by colors because the adaptive unconscious tells us what to feel. What we buy is directly affected by this mechanism. Whatever looks more pleasing, we buy. Whatever causes us to have happy emotions, we buy. Without the adaptive unconscious, we could not be human at all.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
4th Hour: LeBron James
We recently took a trip to the Quicken Loan Arena to see the Cleveland Cavs take on the Denver Nuggets. I must say that now I am a witness.
While watching the game I thought about analyzing the effect the crowd had on the players. But as the game progressed I noticed that the players had more of an affect on the crowd.
I found this particularly interesting. Every action that some player did on the court either made the crowd cheer, boo, or aww. If LeBron James would make a spectacular play the crowd would go absolutely nuts. And when Chauncey Billups would shoot a 3 the crowd would boo relentlessly.
So what I found was that, an audience really has no affect on a player's emotions or how they play at all.
Let's take the first quarter. The Cavs had all their starters in. This included LeBron. Whenever a big play happened for the Cavs, whether it was a steal or a downtown shot, the crowd would roar and jump. But when the Nuggets would score or do something good, the crowd would sit down or boo. This proved my first theory wrong. The players have a much greater affect on the crowd rather than the crowd on the players.
This was further proved in the second quarter. LeBron was out and a whole myriad of players were in, including Varejao. Varejao is a very interesting player. I do not consider him to be good at all, in fact I think he needs to go back down to college ball to work on some skills. But nonetheless he was in.
For almost the whole second quarter the crowd was quiet. The Nuggets were able to jump all over the Cavs and take the lead at the half. Having the "second string" players in for the Cavs quieted down the crowd, sometimes to a hush.
This showed me that 1) The players control the crowd, and that 2) LeBron James carries this team.
To further these two points whenever the crowd got too silent, the media guys would flash a picture of the Steelers' or Wolverines' logo on the scoreboard to rile the crowd up. The crowd would get back into the game, but the players would not play any better or worse. Also in this respect James never changed what he was doing.
James would basically go to the same spot on the court whenever he was offense. This spot was court left outside the 3 point line. The crowds reactions to what was happening to the game did not affect what LeBron was supposed to do. LeBron knows that if he is not at that exact spot, his team will fall.
In fact I believe the only reason that the Cavs win is because of LeBron. Having him on the team causes the opposing team to be worried. If you do not have a player that is ready to defend LeBron, the game goes to the Cavs.
A team that showed this was false was the Celtics. Last year the Celtics Paul Pierce stepped up and took on LeBron. This meant that everyone else on teh Celtics could worry about their own man. In the end, when LeBron was "taken out of the game" by Pierce, the Celtics ended up winning.
So this 4th hour taught me a lot. Cleveland needs to step up its sports teams. Hanging off of one player can only work for so long. I have not seen a team like the Cavs. LeBron is such a good player that he could be his own team. Without him the Cavs would most likely fall. If a team has a player that can take on LeBron toe to toe, the Cavs are toast. Chauncey almost did that is this game. I know that Pierce could do it, Kobe could do it, and so could Dwayne Wade. Cleveland sports need to get away from this one player approach and start playing as a team. This also goes for the Indians. First it was Sabathia, this year it was Lee.
I also learned that crowds do not affect the players at all. Those players are there for work. They get paid to play their butts off, and they do. No matter what the crowd says the players are on that court because they like to play. It is their life. They do not play for the crowd. They play because basketball is their life. It runs in their veins.
Lastly LeBron is the best. There is no one like him. He is so unique. Watching him is like watching magic. He is always thinking, how can I get my team in the lead, or how can we score some points. He is a genius at what he does. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that is the best right now.
I am a witness,
Ian
While watching the game I thought about analyzing the effect the crowd had on the players. But as the game progressed I noticed that the players had more of an affect on the crowd.
I found this particularly interesting. Every action that some player did on the court either made the crowd cheer, boo, or aww. If LeBron James would make a spectacular play the crowd would go absolutely nuts. And when Chauncey Billups would shoot a 3 the crowd would boo relentlessly.
So what I found was that, an audience really has no affect on a player's emotions or how they play at all.
Let's take the first quarter. The Cavs had all their starters in. This included LeBron. Whenever a big play happened for the Cavs, whether it was a steal or a downtown shot, the crowd would roar and jump. But when the Nuggets would score or do something good, the crowd would sit down or boo. This proved my first theory wrong. The players have a much greater affect on the crowd rather than the crowd on the players.
This was further proved in the second quarter. LeBron was out and a whole myriad of players were in, including Varejao. Varejao is a very interesting player. I do not consider him to be good at all, in fact I think he needs to go back down to college ball to work on some skills. But nonetheless he was in.
For almost the whole second quarter the crowd was quiet. The Nuggets were able to jump all over the Cavs and take the lead at the half. Having the "second string" players in for the Cavs quieted down the crowd, sometimes to a hush.
This showed me that 1) The players control the crowd, and that 2) LeBron James carries this team.
To further these two points whenever the crowd got too silent, the media guys would flash a picture of the Steelers' or Wolverines' logo on the scoreboard to rile the crowd up. The crowd would get back into the game, but the players would not play any better or worse. Also in this respect James never changed what he was doing.
James would basically go to the same spot on the court whenever he was offense. This spot was court left outside the 3 point line. The crowds reactions to what was happening to the game did not affect what LeBron was supposed to do. LeBron knows that if he is not at that exact spot, his team will fall.
In fact I believe the only reason that the Cavs win is because of LeBron. Having him on the team causes the opposing team to be worried. If you do not have a player that is ready to defend LeBron, the game goes to the Cavs.
A team that showed this was false was the Celtics. Last year the Celtics Paul Pierce stepped up and took on LeBron. This meant that everyone else on teh Celtics could worry about their own man. In the end, when LeBron was "taken out of the game" by Pierce, the Celtics ended up winning.
So this 4th hour taught me a lot. Cleveland needs to step up its sports teams. Hanging off of one player can only work for so long. I have not seen a team like the Cavs. LeBron is such a good player that he could be his own team. Without him the Cavs would most likely fall. If a team has a player that can take on LeBron toe to toe, the Cavs are toast. Chauncey almost did that is this game. I know that Pierce could do it, Kobe could do it, and so could Dwayne Wade. Cleveland sports need to get away from this one player approach and start playing as a team. This also goes for the Indians. First it was Sabathia, this year it was Lee.
I also learned that crowds do not affect the players at all. Those players are there for work. They get paid to play their butts off, and they do. No matter what the crowd says the players are on that court because they like to play. It is their life. They do not play for the crowd. They play because basketball is their life. It runs in their veins.
Lastly LeBron is the best. There is no one like him. He is so unique. Watching him is like watching magic. He is always thinking, how can I get my team in the lead, or how can we score some points. He is a genius at what he does. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that is the best right now.
I am a witness,
Ian
Over Vacation
The blog for this week is what I will do over vacation. Considering we have a couple of vacations coming up I will do the closest one, the Thanksgiving Break.
I am going home on the 25th in order to see my friends before I start seeing my family. On the 26th my high school has its last game of the year against the across town rivals. I love this game; it has been going on since the the two high schools were created. I am excited to see the outcome this year since my high school's football team is actually winning. We might stand a chance this year!
Through the grapevine I have heard that there will be a couple of get-together parties. I don't intend on attending these. I would rather have a small shindig where the people I want to see will be there. The people I am talking about are the people that have made me, me. They are the people that I have gone to school with, who I have hugged, punched, shoved, carried, and joked with. These are the people that I want to see and have a good time with.
I really do not want to relate this to "life of the mind". I enjoy my friends and do not want to have the thought of them be labeled with a course title. So I will try my best not to be bitter.
I have made great friends here at Case. I do not think that my mind will change at all. I mean I realize that I will be in a comfort zone. But that should not change a thing. My friends are my friends no matter where I am with them.
However I know everything will be different. People, including my friends, have changed. I have accepted this. I am not scared that I will lose any of them. I am not scared that they will come back hating me. I am nervous that it will be hard being our "old group".
College changes people. Instead of getting a general education, they are taking classes that will affect their career. My friends will ave to change in order to accomplish their goals. Already I have heard things that I would never expect my friends to do.
Hopefully we all can just chill like we all used to do. I do not believe that a group of friends gets as close as my group has. We all love each other and want each other to succeed.
It really will be interesting going back home.
I think that is all about this subject.
Go Lions!
Ian
I am going home on the 25th in order to see my friends before I start seeing my family. On the 26th my high school has its last game of the year against the across town rivals. I love this game; it has been going on since the the two high schools were created. I am excited to see the outcome this year since my high school's football team is actually winning. We might stand a chance this year!
Through the grapevine I have heard that there will be a couple of get-together parties. I don't intend on attending these. I would rather have a small shindig where the people I want to see will be there. The people I am talking about are the people that have made me, me. They are the people that I have gone to school with, who I have hugged, punched, shoved, carried, and joked with. These are the people that I want to see and have a good time with.
I really do not want to relate this to "life of the mind". I enjoy my friends and do not want to have the thought of them be labeled with a course title. So I will try my best not to be bitter.
I have made great friends here at Case. I do not think that my mind will change at all. I mean I realize that I will be in a comfort zone. But that should not change a thing. My friends are my friends no matter where I am with them.
However I know everything will be different. People, including my friends, have changed. I have accepted this. I am not scared that I will lose any of them. I am not scared that they will come back hating me. I am nervous that it will be hard being our "old group".
College changes people. Instead of getting a general education, they are taking classes that will affect their career. My friends will ave to change in order to accomplish their goals. Already I have heard things that I would never expect my friends to do.
Hopefully we all can just chill like we all used to do. I do not believe that a group of friends gets as close as my group has. We all love each other and want each other to succeed.
It really will be interesting going back home.
I think that is all about this subject.
Go Lions!
Ian
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Natural History Museum Blog
I am sorry if I come off a bit angry in this post. The ultimate-frisbee tourney just finished, and I am in pain. So, sorry.
For the most part I enjoyed the museum. It brought back fond memories of when I used to visit the local natural history museum when I was a kid. I thought that the museums exhibits were a bit lacking. Not having the real skeletons seems like cheating. I can see when you have about 30% of a skeleton filling in the rest, but not a whole fake one.
While I am on the topic of skeletons and fossils, Lucy intrigued me. I wasn't interested that she was the "first upright walker". I was more interested in the fact that barely any of her skeleton was there. It seemed almost impossible that a few fragments of bone could yield that skeleton. I realize that I am no physics or calculus major, but it seems improbable that a tiny piece of an eye socket can wield a whole skull. It seems as if the scientists who were trying to figure out what the skeleton was ruched their research.
But I guess the focus was actually the race exhibit. I was disappointed with this part of the museum. I didn't really get what theme was coming across. I felt awkward going in to that room. I knew before hand that there would be a lot of things that dealt with a "white supremacy" point of view. I felt very awkward being a white kid in a room about race.
I did not see too much "white supremacy" themes. I got the impression that it was implied. For instance, a woman on a video said that some African-American person was considered "okay" by white people, which means that they consider him white.
A part of me felt bad, but in the end that is what happens. When you make a friend that you can trust and that you can relate to, race is no longer important. You make that person your friend. You make that person something comfortable to you. Whether it is a color, or an animal, it doesn't matter. The theme and mindset of having your opposite colored friends be the same color as you is more universal. Everyone has a comfort zone, and when someone is let into that comfort zone, they are accepted. It has nothing to do with race.
I also felt that a lot of the exhibits had to do with stereotypes. That was not fun. Of course I am going to think an Asian looking person is from China, or a black man from Jamaica, and a white woman from Norway. That is typically who live in those respective countries. It seemed as if this part of the museum wanted people to feel bad for thinking like everyone else. But they didn't get to me.
I assume that I have to relate this to some part of "Life of the Mind" so here I go. I believe that most of the exhibit was geared to the adaptive unconscious. Seeing a black man automatically makes him African. That would make sense because that is what my brain has knowledge of. I really thought that the exhibit would deal more with racial issues not tricking you into feeling bad. I think the main (intended) point of the exhibit was to make you aware of the stereotypes that infect our brain. Other than that, I don't really see how this exhibit connects with "Life of the Mind".
I did learn something from this exhibit. I learned that heritage is more important than race. I am prideful of my Celtic heritage. I do not see a problem with liking that my family came from the British Isles. And as I went through the exhibit I noticed that everyone that was interviewed had pride in their heritage. Even the people on the note cards said that they were proud of their bloodline. I am glad that I can now look past color and shade, and look at a human being, that is just descended from a different country than I am.
I am out,
Phluph
For the most part I enjoyed the museum. It brought back fond memories of when I used to visit the local natural history museum when I was a kid. I thought that the museums exhibits were a bit lacking. Not having the real skeletons seems like cheating. I can see when you have about 30% of a skeleton filling in the rest, but not a whole fake one.
While I am on the topic of skeletons and fossils, Lucy intrigued me. I wasn't interested that she was the "first upright walker". I was more interested in the fact that barely any of her skeleton was there. It seemed almost impossible that a few fragments of bone could yield that skeleton. I realize that I am no physics or calculus major, but it seems improbable that a tiny piece of an eye socket can wield a whole skull. It seems as if the scientists who were trying to figure out what the skeleton was ruched their research.
But I guess the focus was actually the race exhibit. I was disappointed with this part of the museum. I didn't really get what theme was coming across. I felt awkward going in to that room. I knew before hand that there would be a lot of things that dealt with a "white supremacy" point of view. I felt very awkward being a white kid in a room about race.
I did not see too much "white supremacy" themes. I got the impression that it was implied. For instance, a woman on a video said that some African-American person was considered "okay" by white people, which means that they consider him white.
A part of me felt bad, but in the end that is what happens. When you make a friend that you can trust and that you can relate to, race is no longer important. You make that person your friend. You make that person something comfortable to you. Whether it is a color, or an animal, it doesn't matter. The theme and mindset of having your opposite colored friends be the same color as you is more universal. Everyone has a comfort zone, and when someone is let into that comfort zone, they are accepted. It has nothing to do with race.
I also felt that a lot of the exhibits had to do with stereotypes. That was not fun. Of course I am going to think an Asian looking person is from China, or a black man from Jamaica, and a white woman from Norway. That is typically who live in those respective countries. It seemed as if this part of the museum wanted people to feel bad for thinking like everyone else. But they didn't get to me.
I assume that I have to relate this to some part of "Life of the Mind" so here I go. I believe that most of the exhibit was geared to the adaptive unconscious. Seeing a black man automatically makes him African. That would make sense because that is what my brain has knowledge of. I really thought that the exhibit would deal more with racial issues not tricking you into feeling bad. I think the main (intended) point of the exhibit was to make you aware of the stereotypes that infect our brain. Other than that, I don't really see how this exhibit connects with "Life of the Mind".
I did learn something from this exhibit. I learned that heritage is more important than race. I am prideful of my Celtic heritage. I do not see a problem with liking that my family came from the British Isles. And as I went through the exhibit I noticed that everyone that was interviewed had pride in their heritage. Even the people on the note cards said that they were proud of their bloodline. I am glad that I can now look past color and shade, and look at a human being, that is just descended from a different country than I am.
I am out,
Phluph
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Debate Post
I realize that this blog is a little late, but my time has been spent on midterms. But my topic for the debate was on whether or not the current economic would fix itself without any outside help. This turned out to be very interesting, despite my initial thoughts.
I started this assignment without a shred of hope. Of course our economy needs some kind of outside help. That seemed as clear as day to me. But the more I dove into the economy and all its issues, I found that letting the economy fail, may actually be what we need.
At the rate our stock market is dropping, bottoming out quickly may be the best idea. I mean even with the stimulus package and the bailout plan, nothing has really happened. Having the economy bottom out might be just what we need. The strongest companies will survive. Thus when we need to boost up the economy up again, the brightest and best can do it. Also, the government is spending way too much money on this problem causing us to be in greater debt. This is a no-no.
Research showed me two main things; we are $10 trillion in debt, and the government is spending more to get us out of this recession. BAD! TERRIBLE! First the money that we are getting to "help" with the debt is foreign. Which means that we will have to pay that back. And with the dollar sinking is value compared to the other world currencies, that means epic payback prices.
This showed me that 1)If the government stayed out of the money market, at least for a while, we would have a stronger dollar and less debt; and 2)People are stupid with money. Having the stimulus package fail (people not doing what was intended to do with the money) was terrible. And having the government step in was worse.
I realize that I have only ranted on the government, and you are right! Other than them, we would not be so bad off. And in my research, that is all I saw. Government spending money is not a good thing. At least not the way they are spending it. NASA has not been doing well, yet they keep receiving money. NOT COOL!
So I think that there is one solution. Government out. For the moment. Let the people spend the money. People need to realize that spending money on domestic goods is a good thing. YAY! We (the people) have the power to at least curve the worst of this decline. If we put our money in the American market, we should hold off the worst. Looking to the outside for help is not the answer. Unless a country was so generous as to just give us money, then great. UNLIKELY!
What I truly think is that we need to fix this problem ourselves. We elect the officials that are screwing things up. So lets make up for that. Let's fix this problem. Not anyone else. For the moment this would seem to work. America needs to get back on its feet before we can stand up again.
Sorry about the last cliche. =)
Hugs and love
Phluph
I started this assignment without a shred of hope. Of course our economy needs some kind of outside help. That seemed as clear as day to me. But the more I dove into the economy and all its issues, I found that letting the economy fail, may actually be what we need.
At the rate our stock market is dropping, bottoming out quickly may be the best idea. I mean even with the stimulus package and the bailout plan, nothing has really happened. Having the economy bottom out might be just what we need. The strongest companies will survive. Thus when we need to boost up the economy up again, the brightest and best can do it. Also, the government is spending way too much money on this problem causing us to be in greater debt. This is a no-no.
Research showed me two main things; we are $10 trillion in debt, and the government is spending more to get us out of this recession. BAD! TERRIBLE! First the money that we are getting to "help" with the debt is foreign. Which means that we will have to pay that back. And with the dollar sinking is value compared to the other world currencies, that means epic payback prices.
This showed me that 1)If the government stayed out of the money market, at least for a while, we would have a stronger dollar and less debt; and 2)People are stupid with money. Having the stimulus package fail (people not doing what was intended to do with the money) was terrible. And having the government step in was worse.
I realize that I have only ranted on the government, and you are right! Other than them, we would not be so bad off. And in my research, that is all I saw. Government spending money is not a good thing. At least not the way they are spending it. NASA has not been doing well, yet they keep receiving money. NOT COOL!
So I think that there is one solution. Government out. For the moment. Let the people spend the money. People need to realize that spending money on domestic goods is a good thing. YAY! We (the people) have the power to at least curve the worst of this decline. If we put our money in the American market, we should hold off the worst. Looking to the outside for help is not the answer. Unless a country was so generous as to just give us money, then great. UNLIKELY!
What I truly think is that we need to fix this problem ourselves. We elect the officials that are screwing things up. So lets make up for that. Let's fix this problem. Not anyone else. For the moment this would seem to work. America needs to get back on its feet before we can stand up again.
Sorry about the last cliche. =)
Hugs and love
Phluph
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Blog Theme
I am really not sure what theme my blog should be. I have considered many options, and none really seem to fit. But, I think I found one that I really like. I am going to write this blog as a free-write. This means that I will use my own style and persona. The writing will be purely Ian Youngs. I feel that this style will let my writing flow much better. I believe that my ideas and my feelings will be expressed clearer. It will also give the reader a more “personal” relationship with me. When people read this blog I want them to feel comfortable and chill. I’ll try not to hide anything, and keep everything in the open .
A snap judgment could go two ways with my blog. Because it is a free write and has no form, it could be seen that I am uncaring and selfish. A rebel trying to promote his own views; infecting the norm. This would be a very bad conclusion. It is true that I don’t like authority, and I have a problem with rules. But I follow them, and do my own thing inside of them.
The flip side of the previous snap judgment is a “nicer” theme. It is one where people could see that I am a free spirit, just expressing whatever comes to my mind, not caring what anyone thinks. Again I believe that this is a bad conclusion. Yes, this is free-form writing. Yes it is able to be bent and shifted at my will. But it has its limits, and I have to adhere to them. If I am given a topic, I will stick to it. I may use allusions in my blog, but the topic will remain constant.
Either way I look at it, thin slicing my blog, is not the best thing to do. Though both views that I have given are different, they are very much the same. Both views show me as something I am not. I do not want to be a rebel or a free spirit. I just want to be me. I want to write, talk, and live as me. Again this is where Blink falters. I don’t believe that any of the experiments take account of people’s personalities. I mean after a hard test where I have to make sentences out of given words, of course I am going to walk slower, or act more aggressive. The fact is that I am slower because my brain is shot from the difficulty of the test. And I would be more aggressive because of the difficulty of the test, and the time I have spent on it. That is just who I am.
I don’t think anyone can thin slice perfectly, and that is why my blog is unique. I am giving you me in the form of writing. And I do not believe that anyone can thin slice me.
Signing out,
Ian
A snap judgment could go two ways with my blog. Because it is a free write and has no form, it could be seen that I am uncaring and selfish. A rebel trying to promote his own views; infecting the norm. This would be a very bad conclusion. It is true that I don’t like authority, and I have a problem with rules. But I follow them, and do my own thing inside of them.
The flip side of the previous snap judgment is a “nicer” theme. It is one where people could see that I am a free spirit, just expressing whatever comes to my mind, not caring what anyone thinks. Again I believe that this is a bad conclusion. Yes, this is free-form writing. Yes it is able to be bent and shifted at my will. But it has its limits, and I have to adhere to them. If I am given a topic, I will stick to it. I may use allusions in my blog, but the topic will remain constant.
Either way I look at it, thin slicing my blog, is not the best thing to do. Though both views that I have given are different, they are very much the same. Both views show me as something I am not. I do not want to be a rebel or a free spirit. I just want to be me. I want to write, talk, and live as me. Again this is where Blink falters. I don’t believe that any of the experiments take account of people’s personalities. I mean after a hard test where I have to make sentences out of given words, of course I am going to walk slower, or act more aggressive. The fact is that I am slower because my brain is shot from the difficulty of the test. And I would be more aggressive because of the difficulty of the test, and the time I have spent on it. That is just who I am.
I don’t think anyone can thin slice perfectly, and that is why my blog is unique. I am giving you me in the form of writing. And I do not believe that anyone can thin slice me.
Signing out,
Ian
Memoir Essay- Baseball Memoir
Ian Youngs
Robert Bricker, Kristine Kelly
SAGES
9/21/08
Baseball Memoir
I believe that I have endured every hardship common to baseball players from jammed fingers to dehydration. But no injury was worse than the raspberries. My skin just seemed to swell, as if someone shoved a balloon under my leg and started to blow it up. The bubbles came next. Not big bubbles, more like bubble wrap. And oh, the color! The color was the worst. Bright red like a stop sign, which turned to maroon after a couple of minutes. And the darker the raspberry became, the more it throbbed.
But no matter what happened, I would play on. I had to play on. The grass and clay called to me, the field called to me, the game itself called to me. It wanted me, and I wanted it. And there was absolutely nothing that would keep me away from participating, not even my raspberries.
As I played, I got better, and wiser. And so did the game. With every new experience I had, baseball would throw me another one. (No pun intended.) If I do say so, I have been around the block when it comes to baseball. I have been on all-star caliber teams, as well as teams that should just be put out of their misery. I have hit in the .400’s and fielded terribly; and I have fielded like a pro, and not been able to hit a small planet. So, as I see it, I know baseball pretty well.
Every player has a goal. Whether it is baseball or some other sport, every player has some goal that he wants to attain. These goals are important. They are iconic moments that almost never happen. Winning a world title, getting eight gold medals in one Olympics, becoming the “world’s fastest man.” And when these events do happen, everyone knows who did them. People remember the names and pass them down through history. Jesse Owens, 1972 Dolphins, Wilt Chamberlain are names that can and will never be forgotten. I wanted to achieve one of these goals. I was going to hit a grand slam.
My last year playing in little league was one of my worst years ever. But I still wanted to go out with a bang. I wanted my iconic moment. I didn’t want fame or fortune. I just wanted people to remember what Ian Youngs did for the Indians in the Milford International Little League. I wanted to feel the glory that comes with leaving a piece of history behind. And I would do it.
If my last season was terrible for me; it was even worse for my team. We would have been in last place if not for the team that forfeited out. We were awful. In this particular game we had no chance of winning, at all.
It was the last inning of our six-inning game. I got up to bat and figured that I would do what I had done the rest of the year, strike out. I watched the first two pitches go by. They were balls. I swung at the next two, and missed. But the next pitch was different. I was able to see it. Right out of the pitcher’s hand everything clicked. I was batting, I had a hitter’s count, and the bases were loaded. Wait the bases were loaded? Holy cow, they were. Everything clicked.
I saw the spin on the ball. It was a fastball, and it was dropping. Not where I like to hit the ball, but I could see where it was going. I knew that this pitch was different. This pitch was not like the others I had seen in the game. This one just seemed, unique. I swung.
I remember at the beginning of the year saying, “I can feel myself hitting. I can’t explain it, but I can feel it.” That day, when the bases were loaded and I had a two and two count, I could feel it. I did feel it. The ball flew off my bat.
I watched the ball elevate quite quickly. This was strange. My hits don’t elevate. They are more lobbing, even when they go far. But this one really rocketed straight up. I dropped my bat, and started towards first base. I still watched though. In baseball, this is a no-no. You do not do this. In high school, you would have to run laps if you watched your ball long enough. But I was glued to this ball. It was so out of place, so unique.
What made it even more unreal was the sound that the crowd made. Yes, I had heard the ping of the bat, but the crowd was what intrigued me. At first there was collective amazement. They all kind of spoke at once like, “Oh my god!” Then the crowd all got quiet. They had to be inside of my head thinking, “My hits don’t do that.” But this one did.
I was a halfway to first base when the ball started its decline. I cannot describe how it fell, because it just fell. Like when a pen drops or money falls. It wasn’t special in any regards.
When I was just a few feet from first, the ball stopped. This was a surreal moment. I wasn’t sure how to act. This had never happened before. Should I jump? Should I stop? I was at a loss as to what I should do. Then after I rounded first, I knew exactly what I should do.
I clapped. I clapped so hard that my hands hurt. Not like the pain you feel after you have hit the ball on a cold day, but a throbbing pain. A victory pain.
I had just hit a grand slam. The ball had stopped ten feet over the center field fence. I could see my best friend’s little brother sprinting, knocking over everyone to get the ball for me. The crowd gave me shivers. Everyone, not just my team’s parents, everyone’s parents and friends were all screaming. I could feel their excitement. I was their excitement.
My cheeks expanded so far as I rounded third base. I wanted everyone to see my smile, to see my pride as I triumphantly trotted towards home. I crossed home plate, that white spot of glory, that speck of ivory that gave our team runs, and me a place in history.
My team jumped all over me. Everyone jumped on me. Coaches and staff, almost everyone that could leap on me, did. And I leaped too. I don’t know why we were jumping. Was it to celebrate our four runs? I don’t think so. Was it tradition? Possibly. I think it was because a grand slam is so rare, that it deserves celebration. It is the royal flush, the 300, the 19-0 season. That is why we jumped. We all knew that we would probably never, ever be able to bounce and leap like this again.
Anybody walking by would have thought that we had won the game. It was so noisy. I could swear the whole field, no, the whole neighborhood was saying something about this hit. There was nothing silent at the time. Every alarm, clock, dog, cat, fish, beeper, cell phone, pager, went off to show appreciation for my rare feat.
I could have floated. I could have wafted off with a breeze. I had done it. I had completed a task that can and will be remembered. Kids may go pro, or become doctors or world leaders, but they cannot say what all baseball players dream of saying, “I hit a grand slam.”
I know that this story sounds very grandiose and overplayed, like something out of a cheesy baseball flick. But that is how I can remember this moment. If you come from the town I am from you will understand.
Milford is a medium sized city where sports are not really high on the priority list. So when something big happens, everyone remembers. For instance, when I remember the crowd going absolutely crazy and everyone jumping; that is all absolutely true.
There is the possibility that I was wrapped up in my elation in that moment that everything seemed overblown. I don’t doubt that this was the case, but I would rather have people enjoying themselves rather than being bored.
I would like to concentrate on the part when I zeroed in on the baseball. This moment really happened. I felt as if I was in the Matrix. Everything about that moment seemed to be in slow motion. I was so focused on that pitch that I was able to zero out everything around me.
This may sound like a superhuman ability, but this is not the only time when I have focused on something this hard. I was able to do this many more times in my baseball career. When I zero in on a pitch everything else means nothing. Everything else is nothing.
I can actually remember when I hit this ball. I can see exactly where the ball was when I started my swing. I can remember the moment after it left my bat. There is so much about that moment that I can recall that it scares me.
I chose this moment because it was the defining point of my team’s year. We rarely won and played horribly. Anything that could go wrong with a baseball team did. But at the moment I swung at that pitch, our team was special. We were the Milford International Little League Indians, the comeback kids. And I was Ian Youngs, the kid that hit a grand slam on a cloudy summer afternoon.
That one moment changed our team. For that moment in time we were the all-stars, the MVP’s of the Little League World. That is why this moment sticks out in my mind. I had changed the entire face of my little league team. I was the icon. I was the kid that hit the grand slam, the kid that achieved history.
Robert Bricker, Kristine Kelly
SAGES
9/21/08
Baseball Memoir
I believe that I have endured every hardship common to baseball players from jammed fingers to dehydration. But no injury was worse than the raspberries. My skin just seemed to swell, as if someone shoved a balloon under my leg and started to blow it up. The bubbles came next. Not big bubbles, more like bubble wrap. And oh, the color! The color was the worst. Bright red like a stop sign, which turned to maroon after a couple of minutes. And the darker the raspberry became, the more it throbbed.
But no matter what happened, I would play on. I had to play on. The grass and clay called to me, the field called to me, the game itself called to me. It wanted me, and I wanted it. And there was absolutely nothing that would keep me away from participating, not even my raspberries.
As I played, I got better, and wiser. And so did the game. With every new experience I had, baseball would throw me another one. (No pun intended.) If I do say so, I have been around the block when it comes to baseball. I have been on all-star caliber teams, as well as teams that should just be put out of their misery. I have hit in the .400’s and fielded terribly; and I have fielded like a pro, and not been able to hit a small planet. So, as I see it, I know baseball pretty well.
Every player has a goal. Whether it is baseball or some other sport, every player has some goal that he wants to attain. These goals are important. They are iconic moments that almost never happen. Winning a world title, getting eight gold medals in one Olympics, becoming the “world’s fastest man.” And when these events do happen, everyone knows who did them. People remember the names and pass them down through history. Jesse Owens, 1972 Dolphins, Wilt Chamberlain are names that can and will never be forgotten. I wanted to achieve one of these goals. I was going to hit a grand slam.
My last year playing in little league was one of my worst years ever. But I still wanted to go out with a bang. I wanted my iconic moment. I didn’t want fame or fortune. I just wanted people to remember what Ian Youngs did for the Indians in the Milford International Little League. I wanted to feel the glory that comes with leaving a piece of history behind. And I would do it.
If my last season was terrible for me; it was even worse for my team. We would have been in last place if not for the team that forfeited out. We were awful. In this particular game we had no chance of winning, at all.
It was the last inning of our six-inning game. I got up to bat and figured that I would do what I had done the rest of the year, strike out. I watched the first two pitches go by. They were balls. I swung at the next two, and missed. But the next pitch was different. I was able to see it. Right out of the pitcher’s hand everything clicked. I was batting, I had a hitter’s count, and the bases were loaded. Wait the bases were loaded? Holy cow, they were. Everything clicked.
I saw the spin on the ball. It was a fastball, and it was dropping. Not where I like to hit the ball, but I could see where it was going. I knew that this pitch was different. This pitch was not like the others I had seen in the game. This one just seemed, unique. I swung.
I remember at the beginning of the year saying, “I can feel myself hitting. I can’t explain it, but I can feel it.” That day, when the bases were loaded and I had a two and two count, I could feel it. I did feel it. The ball flew off my bat.
I watched the ball elevate quite quickly. This was strange. My hits don’t elevate. They are more lobbing, even when they go far. But this one really rocketed straight up. I dropped my bat, and started towards first base. I still watched though. In baseball, this is a no-no. You do not do this. In high school, you would have to run laps if you watched your ball long enough. But I was glued to this ball. It was so out of place, so unique.
What made it even more unreal was the sound that the crowd made. Yes, I had heard the ping of the bat, but the crowd was what intrigued me. At first there was collective amazement. They all kind of spoke at once like, “Oh my god!” Then the crowd all got quiet. They had to be inside of my head thinking, “My hits don’t do that.” But this one did.
I was a halfway to first base when the ball started its decline. I cannot describe how it fell, because it just fell. Like when a pen drops or money falls. It wasn’t special in any regards.
When I was just a few feet from first, the ball stopped. This was a surreal moment. I wasn’t sure how to act. This had never happened before. Should I jump? Should I stop? I was at a loss as to what I should do. Then after I rounded first, I knew exactly what I should do.
I clapped. I clapped so hard that my hands hurt. Not like the pain you feel after you have hit the ball on a cold day, but a throbbing pain. A victory pain.
I had just hit a grand slam. The ball had stopped ten feet over the center field fence. I could see my best friend’s little brother sprinting, knocking over everyone to get the ball for me. The crowd gave me shivers. Everyone, not just my team’s parents, everyone’s parents and friends were all screaming. I could feel their excitement. I was their excitement.
My cheeks expanded so far as I rounded third base. I wanted everyone to see my smile, to see my pride as I triumphantly trotted towards home. I crossed home plate, that white spot of glory, that speck of ivory that gave our team runs, and me a place in history.
My team jumped all over me. Everyone jumped on me. Coaches and staff, almost everyone that could leap on me, did. And I leaped too. I don’t know why we were jumping. Was it to celebrate our four runs? I don’t think so. Was it tradition? Possibly. I think it was because a grand slam is so rare, that it deserves celebration. It is the royal flush, the 300, the 19-0 season. That is why we jumped. We all knew that we would probably never, ever be able to bounce and leap like this again.
Anybody walking by would have thought that we had won the game. It was so noisy. I could swear the whole field, no, the whole neighborhood was saying something about this hit. There was nothing silent at the time. Every alarm, clock, dog, cat, fish, beeper, cell phone, pager, went off to show appreciation for my rare feat.
I could have floated. I could have wafted off with a breeze. I had done it. I had completed a task that can and will be remembered. Kids may go pro, or become doctors or world leaders, but they cannot say what all baseball players dream of saying, “I hit a grand slam.”
I know that this story sounds very grandiose and overplayed, like something out of a cheesy baseball flick. But that is how I can remember this moment. If you come from the town I am from you will understand.
Milford is a medium sized city where sports are not really high on the priority list. So when something big happens, everyone remembers. For instance, when I remember the crowd going absolutely crazy and everyone jumping; that is all absolutely true.
There is the possibility that I was wrapped up in my elation in that moment that everything seemed overblown. I don’t doubt that this was the case, but I would rather have people enjoying themselves rather than being bored.
I would like to concentrate on the part when I zeroed in on the baseball. This moment really happened. I felt as if I was in the Matrix. Everything about that moment seemed to be in slow motion. I was so focused on that pitch that I was able to zero out everything around me.
This may sound like a superhuman ability, but this is not the only time when I have focused on something this hard. I was able to do this many more times in my baseball career. When I zero in on a pitch everything else means nothing. Everything else is nothing.
I can actually remember when I hit this ball. I can see exactly where the ball was when I started my swing. I can remember the moment after it left my bat. There is so much about that moment that I can recall that it scares me.
I chose this moment because it was the defining point of my team’s year. We rarely won and played horribly. Anything that could go wrong with a baseball team did. But at the moment I swung at that pitch, our team was special. We were the Milford International Little League Indians, the comeback kids. And I was Ian Youngs, the kid that hit a grand slam on a cloudy summer afternoon.
That one moment changed our team. For that moment in time we were the all-stars, the MVP’s of the Little League World. That is why this moment sticks out in my mind. I had changed the entire face of my little league team. I was the icon. I was the kid that hit the grand slam, the kid that achieved history.
Monday, September 8, 2008
4th Hour Blog
An appropriate question for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is, “What doesn’t it offer?” Aside from the obvious answer, it contains many iconic pieces of history. From props in music videos, to guitars and drums, even to original records, the Hall of Fame is home to a great history of music.
But what is so great about Britney Spears’ outfit? And who was the genius that let The Backstreet Boys have an exhibit? These are not breakthrough artists! These are not bands that have reshaped the musical world. I mean is Nick Lachey really comparable to Michael Jackson? In any way I think not.
So what causes this rift in musical option? I completely recognize that opinions and tastes differ, and respect all of them. But what is it that makes the jacket from thriller more iconic than a stool that Madonna sat on? Why am I drawn to a saxophone played by Stephen Kupka of Tower of Power rather than the shoes of Elton John?
A fourth hour activity seems pivotal in discovering why this is. What is it about certain artists that people enjoy and that others despise? Just watching where people go first in the museum will be an adequate way to start off this experiment.
As for the other suggested activities, I am drawn to two of them; the Cavs game and the Museum of Art. These are maybe the two most different activities that could interest me, but they have really griped me into looking further into them.
A Cavs game would be easy to do. Looking into each decision that a player makes and seeing what his thought process might have been. Analyzing his approach and furthermore the result of his actions. Another thing that can be looked at is the “team approach”. How each team pulls off their respective plays, and how each team reacts to different strategies by the opponent could be explored further. And let’s not forget, all of these situations are all split second decisions, making incites and predictions hard to make.
The Art Museum was originally my least favorite. But after taking everything into account, I think it could be some fun. What makes something a luxury? I believe it is something that is rare and hard to attain. A leather chair, I mean a real leather chair, is a luxury. One that feels already broken in and makes you feel all warm and gooey inside. However I do not see a cell phone as a luxury. In the times that we live in a cell phone has become a necessity. Looking at all the objects and deciding whether or not they could benefit me would be a fun fourth hour activity to do.
I believe that no matter what, I would be able to find something interesting to do no matter what activity we pick.
That’s it. Signing out,
Phluph
But what is so great about Britney Spears’ outfit? And who was the genius that let The Backstreet Boys have an exhibit? These are not breakthrough artists! These are not bands that have reshaped the musical world. I mean is Nick Lachey really comparable to Michael Jackson? In any way I think not.
So what causes this rift in musical option? I completely recognize that opinions and tastes differ, and respect all of them. But what is it that makes the jacket from thriller more iconic than a stool that Madonna sat on? Why am I drawn to a saxophone played by Stephen Kupka of Tower of Power rather than the shoes of Elton John?
A fourth hour activity seems pivotal in discovering why this is. What is it about certain artists that people enjoy and that others despise? Just watching where people go first in the museum will be an adequate way to start off this experiment.
As for the other suggested activities, I am drawn to two of them; the Cavs game and the Museum of Art. These are maybe the two most different activities that could interest me, but they have really griped me into looking further into them.
A Cavs game would be easy to do. Looking into each decision that a player makes and seeing what his thought process might have been. Analyzing his approach and furthermore the result of his actions. Another thing that can be looked at is the “team approach”. How each team pulls off their respective plays, and how each team reacts to different strategies by the opponent could be explored further. And let’s not forget, all of these situations are all split second decisions, making incites and predictions hard to make.
The Art Museum was originally my least favorite. But after taking everything into account, I think it could be some fun. What makes something a luxury? I believe it is something that is rare and hard to attain. A leather chair, I mean a real leather chair, is a luxury. One that feels already broken in and makes you feel all warm and gooey inside. However I do not see a cell phone as a luxury. In the times that we live in a cell phone has become a necessity. Looking at all the objects and deciding whether or not they could benefit me would be a fun fourth hour activity to do.
I believe that no matter what, I would be able to find something interesting to do no matter what activity we pick.
That’s it. Signing out,
Phluph
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Blog 2
Since there was only one Sages class this week, there is not much to say. Since I showed up a bit late, due to a new schedule, I missed the first part of our discussion. But I was able to catch the end of the middle and end.
I won’t go into detail about the questions because I want to focus on the fourth hour activity. I heard some really interesting ideas. The Cinamatique seems really cool. Aside from watching film, I think it would be fun to look at the human psyche of the characters. Educationally, I think this will be the most stimulating activity. Movies can be interpreted in so many ways that we, as a class, can come up with many different ideas and opinions.
The activity I would want to do most is the major sporting event. Since Cleveland is a major sports city, it will be very simple to find an event to go to. Football is just starting up, and the Browns and Bengals will be playing. It will be quite easy to see how these teams fare this season. It will be fun to see how each person in our class will predict each team will fare (if that is what we want to do.)
No matter what we pick, I am sure that I will be able to make it fun for myself. I am looking forward to do this assignment. Signing out for now,
Phluph
I won’t go into detail about the questions because I want to focus on the fourth hour activity. I heard some really interesting ideas. The Cinamatique seems really cool. Aside from watching film, I think it would be fun to look at the human psyche of the characters. Educationally, I think this will be the most stimulating activity. Movies can be interpreted in so many ways that we, as a class, can come up with many different ideas and opinions.
The activity I would want to do most is the major sporting event. Since Cleveland is a major sports city, it will be very simple to find an event to go to. Football is just starting up, and the Browns and Bengals will be playing. It will be quite easy to see how these teams fare this season. It will be fun to see how each person in our class will predict each team will fare (if that is what we want to do.)
No matter what we pick, I am sure that I will be able to make it fun for myself. I am looking forward to do this assignment. Signing out for now,
Phluph
Monday, September 1, 2008
Blog 1
As this is the first post, I am not sure what I should write. Classes start and end, rehearsals begin and finish, not much went on. As Kurt Vonnegut put it, “So it goes.”
In Sages we went over our material for the year. It is pretty simple. From what I was able to discern, our class is going to do some work on how we think. Why is it that thinking fast and accurate is an essential tool? In class we brainstormed why this is in fact, a fact. When it comes to sports you need to have good reflexes and decision making skills in order to play well and help your team win. As a driver of a car you need this skill to weigh situation to not only save your life, but pedestrians as well. Having this quick snapshot mind is just so helpful.
However it can also be a terrible thing. When some people see an electrician or a plumber, they automatically assume that they are not smart, thus putting them on the lower rung of the social ladder. But a deeper look reveals why this is false. Is it not important for an electrician to install all wires properly to make sure that a house does not short circuit; or a plumber to make sure all pipes are secure to prevent a leak? Just because these people do not have a Ph.D. and a certificate on a wall doesn’t make them dumb.
If class this week has taught me anything, it is to be careful in my thoughts. Just because something looks shady doesn’t mean that it always is. I should refine my skills at discerning the facts, and look past what could stop me from being a better person.
Signing out,
Ian
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
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