Really, bass is the most interesting concept, musically, as an evolutionary science. Music has been evolved from early humans as a form of communication of both emotion and also ones surroundings. Beginning as beats and cries/grunts, it had evolved into a more religious, than an artful or traditional form of communication. Most talking and early musical instruments (except for drums and beat-keepers alike) are all represented by the treble clef. Bass is therefore an era-defining concept in our evolutionary process.

YouTube Link

“Is This It?”- by the Strokes (note that there is no bass until 0:51). This isn’t my favorite bass song, but it just really gives a good contrast of the effects that bass has on the sound of a song. Most classic rock, rap (OLD-SCHOOL OR BUST), R&B, grunge, punk, new wave, 90s alternative, and not to mention blues, jazz, classical, etc., are all rich in bassiness.  Most songs one would hear on any pop radio station are all treble heavy, with those few exceptions of songs that are equal in bass-treble deliciousness. Do you know why good songs sound better live or on LP? It’s because, in a live venue, TEAMS of people’s jobs are to set up a good all-encompassing sound system that can provide both the short sound waves of the treble, and the long wavelength sounds of the bass. On a record player, the process by which the sound gets from the record surface to the speaker separates the sound in such a way that you get this similar fullness of wavelength and sound quality. On digital songs, like on a CD or and ipod, the middle sections of the sound are crunched together. You HEAR the exact same song, but it just doesnt sound as good unless you download some type of equalizer.

Get a record player. Go to shows. Listen to music that is good, but ditch the bassless crap or the crap that claims to have bass but it’s irrelevant or boring. Imagine a song like a building. If the building doesn’t have strong foundations, it will fall. Much like a song, if the bass is weak, so is the entirety of the song itself.

[podcast]http://ouryouthvoice.com/podcasts/Languages.mp3[/podcast]

Thanks to all those who participated! Join us next Friday during lunch for our next podcast recording.

—-Snaps

I use a program on my Mac called “Parallels” to run Windows operating systems on my computer.  I have had Windows XP installed on my computer for the past year, and booted it up every once in a while to test some websites that I have designed (for compatibility).  Last night, I got Windows 7 and booted it up for the first time.  I had seen a few computers running the system before, but I never got to experience the entire operating system first-hand.

Now, before I continue, I need to bring up a crucial point.  Here is the upgrade pricing for the new operating system being released next month to the general public:

The version I tested out was the “Ultimate” version.  The… $219.99 version.  To summarize my experience: I’m confused.  No, I’m not having troubles finding certain buttons or files.  No, I’m not running intro problems with certain applications, nor did I have any installation questions.  Truthfully, I’m just confused why it’s priced so high.  I have been literally searching for impressive features, even Googling “cool windows 7 features,” finding articles in which “keyboard shortcuts” are considered cool.  Maybe I don’t find the system thrilling because I never had to deal with Vista (or I’ve been spoiled with Mac OS X hehe!).  I think that the next version of Microsoft’s operating system and Apple’s operating system will be incredibly better than where we are at now- I really think that the future is right over the hill, and we are right about to reach the top of the hill: about to see what innovations the future has to bring.

What do you believe computers will be like in five years? Ten years? Fifty years?

-Scott

-Scott

P.S. It was scheduled for the second Friday of school, but I had to postpone it. Sorry!

I for one, am in a long distance relationship, and many people have told me I am “crazy”, or “stupid”, or “dumb” because I’m dating  someone in a different state. Those people who mock me or other people in the same situation as me are pretty much saying (in my opinion, of course) they can’t handle a long distance relationship, and so if THEY can’t handle it, then to them, it’s automatically ludacris. If you want to have a long distance relationship, I support it 100%.

—Snaps.

This week, Bryce Harper of Las Vegas, a well-known 16-year-old who is called the “Chosen One,” a.k.a. the next All-Star baseball player, has decided to skip the last two years of high school and instead get a GED, a choice made with his parents.  This highly-publicized choice has automatically faced criticism from those who believe that although his talents out of class are incredible, he should stay in school to get all of the benefits of a high school education.

This trend of graduating early is becoming more and more intriguing to high school students.  Many want to just get out of high school because they don’t like the drama, or they may feel college would be a more comfortable learning style for them, or they feel that they could be doing something better with their lives than sitting in a classroom.

I, myself, am graduating after my third year of high school, and going straight to a university.  Many people have called me an idiot for my choice, but I feel I have good reasons for my decision.  I have much interest in Computer Engineering, a hot career right now, and I feel like sitting in a classroom learning stuff I will forget next month is completely useless.  I applaud Bryce Harper’s decision to graduate at the age of sixteen.  If I were recognized by Sports Illustrated already, I would be out of school right away too!

I must say, graduating early is not for all students.  The education system is effective.  Sure, not as effective as the other countries of the world, but it does its job of expanding the minds of children and young adults.  But this system does not fit each and every person.  As I see it, the education system fits those kids who need to learn the importance of self-discipline, obviously reading, and thinking outside of the box.  But some kids already get the basics of 10th grade when they enter middle school.  The maturity range of students is so incredible that, I must stress again, this system cannot fit every single child.

So should we get rid of the education system? NO.  Should we accept those who feel it is not right for them? We should more than accept them.

Scott Buscemi

Reference:

http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=955764

-C. Lo

This brings me to my first point: people ultimately want change. Even the happiest person on earth has something more they think might make them happy. This is just the way we are! There’s absolutely no use trying to hide it, deny it, or stop it. People living in poverty want riches, people living in riches wish they had a family. As much as they try to act like they don’t, do not be fooled. It’s perfectly okay to admit this. It’s a trait characteristic in every living organism – a desire to thrive. We don’t want to just live, we want to live comfortably (some more comfortably than others).

As we grow up, these desires and wishes are innocent and harmless. The new toy, to be able to play with siblings this very minute, so on, etc. When we get a bit older, however, and enter the dating scene, these desires may get a bit more scheming. Now we want him to be jealous that he left us, to get the grades that will allow us to go to the sparkling university of our dreams, avoid the overbearing eye of our parents. At each new stage, we realize the silly notions of the past level. We laugh them off without realizing that eventually the “cool”, new ideas we’re embracing now will soon become those we’re ridiculing of the past. For as long as high school seems, four years really aren’t long in the grand scheme of things, and the heartaches of the present will become the heartaches of the past.

People wonder why high school can be so hard. The truth of the matter is that this is the time where we’re discovering ourselves, our talents, our weaknesses, and our image of ourselves, and the only way to develop these ideas is to experience events that challenge our perception of our world. Like it or not, those events will sometimes hurt. How hard they hurt invariably depends on how you handle the situation. But I digress, how to handle painful situations is not the point of this article and shouldn’t be anyone other your decision.

Once we are adults and senior citizens, undoubtably we’ll look back and note these times with fondness, not remembering the pain and anxiety we once felt. Our desires will have changed to more reasonable goals. We hope to be able to pay bills, provide for families, and eventually not break our hips or need dentures. Even in age, humans tend to want something may it be material or otherwise. No matter how much of a conservative you are, there is still an amount of change that you wish to see take place in the world by the end of your lifetime.

So next time you feel upset about a particularly bad break-up, worried about your next job performance evaluation or AP European History exam that you really haven’t studied for just remember that eventually the waves of time will  caress the hurt of your heart and smooth out the pain, eventually eroding it to leave a peacefully blank space of sand for you to do whatever you wish with it.

-mmeyer

Initially the Swine Flu was only known to swine… though because it mutated, for an unknown reason, the H1N1 virus mutated.  It combined the Swine strand with common influenza {known to humans} and the Avian flu… yes the one everyone was fearful about just two years ago.

As of today, May First, there are 343 cases in Mexico, 1 lone case in Asia, 4 cases in New Zealand, 2 cases in Israel, 1 person in Austria, 4 in Germany, 1 in Denmark and 1 in The Netherlands, 1 in Switzerland, 10 in Great Britain, and 13 in Spain bringing Europe’s total to 31.  In Canada there are a known 35 cases and right here in America there are 146 people infected.  The numbers are overwhelming… though still somewhat small.

The United States has issued a preparedness alert, in which the pentagon and the country’s leader’s have told the country over and over that you can help prevent it.  The Swine Flu is spread like Influenza… the plain old flu.   The virus enters the humans respiratory system… usually though the nose, mouth or eyes.  The virus will then land on a cell’s membrane… and be engulfed into the cell where it then releases RNA… duplicate blueprints to it’s DNA….. allowing to create more.  It then must be released from the cell, this is where the “cure” we’ve all heard about would come in.

Tamiflu and Relenza are the antiviral medications of oseltamivir and zanamivir.  Both Tamiflu and Relenza refuse to allow the virus to leave the cell making it so the virus is unable to infect a different cell, which in turn allows the virus to be less dangerous.

Out of 50 states, 22 are holding large amounts of either Tamiflu or Relenza.  Nine of those 22 are already infected… California, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Virgina, South Carolina, Delaware, and New York.   A total of 19 states have at least one positive case.  The federal government recommends that each state have enough of either Tamiflu or Releza to cover twenty-five percent of it’s population.

Only one person has died in the United States so far, a man from Texas.  A state that has yet to reach the federal government’s preparedness standards. Personally I find that the 19 states which have proven cases of the Swine Flu should be the first to receive and stockpile the “antidotes”. Hopefully then it could be quarantined.

It is human nature to fear for one’s life.  It’s also human nature to be stubborn, willful and a pain in teh butt at times. I personally am going to choose the second set.  Sure I’ll be carefull and travel back to kindergarten where I was taught to sing Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star or the ABCs when washing my hands.  I’ll make sure to cover my cough and no kiss anyone who’s recently been ill with anything.  However I will not live my life in fear. I refuse to be one of those crazy parents who wish to hide their children in a cave because one child caught the Swine flu at the school.  I am not going to drop everything to hide whenever someone coughs or sneezes.

Here’s how I see it… if the Swine Flu reaches pandemic level and everyone in the world catches it then we’re all doomed.. or most of us are.  If it reaches pandemic level I won’t cower in fear and wait for the Swine Flu to find me.. I’ll still go to school, I’ll still learn.. and overall I’ll still enjoy my life.  Now that doesn’t mean if I catch it that I’m going to go parading around town.  There has to be some limits.  The Federal Government is arguing.. if you get ill… including a common head cold, STAY AT HOME.

The Swine Flu can be deadly… but don’t run in fear. If you ran from everything that could be potentially dangerous, you be continuously running.  Everything, Chicken Pox, Mononucleaus, the common cold, and regular Influenza, can all be deadly if you don’t take precautions.  Stay home, drink liquids, rest… blah blah blah..  Everyone knows the routine.  The key point with any illness is don’t freak out. Breathe  and rest. Living in fear never did anyone any good.

~Dark Angel