G-Eazy

I found G-Eazy through my sister, who went to one of his concerts in NYC sometime in the last few weeks. As someone who doesn't like rap, I kinda made fun of her for listening to him. I decided to listen to a few songs though, because he has a song with Tennis, who I like.
 Here are some of his songs...     




His music is really catchy, and, like whenever I find a new album I like, I listened to him on repeat all weekend. This white rapper, although perhaps not the most talented, mixes scenes from the 50s with his rap. Most of his songs have something to do with how great/rich/famous he is, but he does a good job breaking up his raps with choruses by different artists.

The Shackle

This is my 60 second video project.
For this project, we had to randomly choose a prop. All of the props were spread out on the floor in trash bags, so we had no idea what we were going to get. We ended up with a toy shackle (a fairly cheap one...it broke about five minutes after we shot our last shot). After 15 minutes of brainstorming, we decided that we would have Ben be a boy trying out for the track team. The shackle was more of a metaphor for the hurt he felt after being insulted by me than anything else. We added the cupcakes at the end to finish on a more humorous note.
We used one of the school's cameras, which actually produced much better quality film than I had expected.
This project really showed me that it is possible to make videos very quickly. We had a week to complete the project, and I am very happy with the result. By carefully planning out each day and mapping out our goals, Rachel, Amy, Ben, Jordan and I were able to finish the video during class. Although more editing time would have made the finished product a little cleaner, I think that the video still turned out great.
This was a really fun project and I am glad that our British exchange students were able to do it with us.

Video Challenge

I made my video challenge with Kyra. It was shot with her DSLR.

Michelle McGhee Wins Award!

             A Blair junior won the School-Jam Teen Field Reporter contest Monday that will allow her to attend the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Show and Battle of the Bands in Anaheim, California January 24^th to report on the different bands at the showcases.

 As the teen field reporter, NAMM and InTune have awarded Michelle McGhee an all expenses paid trip to the NAMM convention, a music product show catering to international instrument distributors. Manufacturers display both instruments and new music software lines, hoping to create business relationships and advertise for their companies. There are also panel presentations and discussions on the music industry’s current issues.

McGhee will also attend the Battle of the Bands, a competition that showcases teen bands and gives out cash prizes to top contestants’ school music programs. McGhee will review the bands’ performances throughout the competition. Her article will be published in the monthly issue of InTune magazine.

McGhee was introduced to the competition in her music technology class, a course she takes in addition to the symphonic band class. The class was required to write an article or make a video for the competition, although students were not required to submit them.

McGhee, however, enjoyed making her video on the influence and development of electronic music and instruments. She named it “Hacking Music” not in a negative sense, but because “taking chords and sounds apart can make music that is really cool and different,” said McGhee. Encouraged to submit her video by her teacher Ms. Roberts, and feeling confident in it herself, McGhee decided to take part in the national competition.

McGhee is very involved in the Blair Music Department. In her time at Blair, she has played baritone saxophone in the Symphonic band and bass guitar in the 2012 musical Les Misérables. McGhee also plays acoustic guitar, drums, and piano. Attending the NAMM convention and Battle of the Bands will give her a chance to explore today’s music industry on a national level, and expose her to other teen musicians’ talent and ideas.

First Position Analysis/Review

The documentary First Position, directed by Bess Kargman, follows the stories of six ballet dancers as they make their way though the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) competition. Aran Bell, an 11-year-old living in Italy (his father is a military doctor), travels hours to his ballet classes. He is very passionate, and very talented for his age. He is very close friends with Gaya Yemini, an 11-year-old from Israel, even though they do not speak the same language and are constantly competing with each other. Michaela DePrince (14) was adopted from Sierra Leon after rebels killed her parents. She lives in Philadelphia, and hopes to overcome the stereotype that African-American dancers cannot make in the ballet world. Rebecca Houseknecht is a 17-year-old graduate from Arundel High School and attended the Maryland Youth Ballet (which, coincidentally, I attended for seven years, until the end of 7^th grade). Seeing Rebecca in a famous documentary, after seeing her on a regular basis at the studio a few years ago was really cool and made this film much more personal. After her participation in YAGP, Rebecca joined the Washington Ballet (which she has since left to study at Towson University). Miko Fogarty (12) lives in Palo Alto, CA and hopes one day to become a professional ballet dancer. Miko is incredibly strong and flexible, and has a lot of support from her mother. Her mother also makes her brother do ballet, but he does not share the passion or commitment to dance that Miko exhibits. Joan Sebastian Zamora is a 16-year-old from Colombia. He lives in Queens, New York, ands works to support his family that still lives in Colombia. Joan Sebastian receives a full scholarship from the Royal Ballet School in London for is outstanding performance in YAGP.

Bess Kargman does a very good job developing the backstories of each of the characters, and therefore creating an interesting plot for viewers to follow. The viewer has a better understanding of each character during the competition after learning about their lives in detail. The costumes are, of course, very nice ballet costumes, and the narration really adds to the movie’s effect. All of the films shots are very nice, and there are a variety of different shots. There are many extreme close-ups of the dancers’ feet on pointe. Instead of just having the one wide shot of the dancer from the audience, there are close-ups and medium close-ups during performances to grasp the viewer’s attention. It must have been very difficult to get these close-ups, and they are all of very high quality. There are no special effects, which is good in my opinion because I think that they would tae away from the documentary. They would reduce the viewers understanding that everything in the film is real, and that these people are living the lives described in the documentary. This documentary was well done and kept my interest, even though it is 90 minutes long. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 96%, and IMDB gave it a 7/10. 

The Teenage Brain

I have long wondered why teenagers make stupid decisions, which we later regret. Why do we not realize at the time that we will regret our actions, and choose then not to do whatever it is. I decided to do some research this week on the teenage brain's wiring (not quite as fun as cookies, but still interesting).

The ventral striatum, active during risk-taking tests, encourages behaviors that give us rewards. During adolescence, this part of the brain is stronger than the more logical, organized part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex. The ventral striatum encourages responses to rewards, forcing teenagers to explore the world and become self-sufficient. Some researchers believe that “the adolescent brain specifically evolved to respond to rewards so teens would leave behind the protection provided by their parents and start exploring their environment-a necessary step toward the independence they will need in adulthood”(Mascarelli, Amanda).

During adolescence, teenagers' brain regions begin to be able to work together more efficiently and precisely. The new speed of travelling information is caused by new insulation tissue that isolates axons (fibers that connect the brain to nerve cells) from interfering signals. Excess synapses (connections between axons and the brain) are discarded during teenage years. Scientists call this process “synaptic pruning.” This strengthens the synapses the brain consistently uses, but makes it more difficult to perform new, unfamiliar tasks like language learning. Learning foreign languages at a younger age is easier than starting a language in high school or college. Synaptic pruning eliminates some of the language leaning synapses that it believes to be unnecessary, in order to focus on the development of the native tongue. When we need to use these language-learning synapses again (in high school or college), they are fewer, and it is much more difficult for our brian to make the right connections quickly and efficiently. Synaptic pruning, axon insulation, and the strength of the ventral striatum enable the teenage brain to make decisions, even if they are not always logical, thought-out choices. Here is a short video about research of the teenage brain.

 

Chocolate-Espresso Crackle Cookies

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  • These are great holiday cookies. Chocolate cookies with a hint of coffee, these cookies are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Instant coffee can be used instead of instant espresso. 
  • This recipe makes about 40 cookies.
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  • 1 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

  • 2 teaspoon instant espresso

  • 2 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

  • 1+1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar

  • 2 large eggs

  • 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (1+1/3 cups chips), melted and cooled

  • 2 tablespoons milk

  • 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, for coating

  
  

  In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, espresso, baking powder, and salt. 

  In an electric mixer, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. 

  Beat in egg until well combined. mix in cooled chocolate.  

  Gradually add flour mixture; beat in milk until just combined. 

  Flatten dough into a disk; wrap in plastic. Freeze until firm, about 45 minutes.

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Pour confectioners' sugar (about 1/2 cup) into a medium bowl; working in batches, roll balls in sugar. Place on prepared baking sheets.

  Bake until coating is cracked, 12 to 14 minutes; cookies will still be soft to the touch. 

  

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Becoming A Vegetarian...Slowly

People choose vegetarianism for a variety of reasons. Here are a few:

• Conservation of Fossil fuels: Fossil fuels are used to produce feed for animals, transport the feed, transport the animals to the slaughter house, slaughter the animal, and then transport the meat to a store. 
• Water Conservation: Four hundred and fourteen gallons of water are needed to produce one pound of meat. More info on pollution caused by meat industry
• Many vegetarians give up meat because of their concern for animals. Ten billion animals are slaughtered for human consumption each year. Factory farming strives to maximize production (of animals) while lowering costs. Thousands of cows are confined in barren dirt lots and have a corn based diet instead of a grass diet. Drugs are added to feed to make fatten the cows faster.
• Avoid diseases caused by the consumption of meat. E. coli is a disease that can be caused by the consumption of uncooked, infected meat. Here's a clip from the movie Food, Inc. (which I watched in my journalism class) about Kevin Kowalczyk, a boy who got E. coli.

Here are a few dinner recipes I've tried so far:
Vegetable Curry: A little bland, so I added an extra 2 teaspoons of curry powder, a 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp cumin, and some red pepper flakes. I didn't have any yogurt, but it was fine without it.
Garbanzo Bean Burrito: I liked this recipe- the yogurt sauce was really good!

Recipes I hope to try:
Quinoa and Black Beans: Sounds good and relatively easy to make.
Broccoli and Cheddar Cheese Soup: Sounds really fatty...and really good...

Capture the Fall Project

I used iMovie to create this film. I shot it with an iPhone 4S, because its video is higher quality than the old point and shoot I used for my 5x5.

Molasses Cookies

These molasses cookies are amazing. To make them thicker, refrigerate the dough for a few hours, ideally overnight. This allows the gluten to develop.
Another tip: Put parchment paper on you cookie sheets. This ensures that the cookies will not stick to the sheet, and makes cleaning up much easier.
This recipe only makes about 2 dozen cookies, so I always double it.

1 cup packed brown sugar

¾ cup shortening

¼ cup molasses

1 egg

2 ¼ cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp salt

3 Tbsp granulated sugar

Heat oven to 325°F. In large bowl, beat brown sugar, shortening, molasses and egg with electric mixer. Stir in remaining ingredients except sugar.

Shape dough by rounded tablespoonfuls into 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll in sugar. On an ungreased cookie sheet, place balls about 2 inches apart. 

Bake 13 to 16 minutes or just until set and cookies appear dry. Immediately remove from cookie sheet.