Color Catastrophe

Hola, thought I would mix it up! So, I've been flipping through some magazines for a while and have come to realize that there aren't very many good or interesting articles out there. And if they do catch my attention I can't blog about them b/c they're about movies or music. :( Too bad I can't blog about that either. haha.

So, anyway I finally stumbled upon an article about art and decided to go with it! It's titled A Room With a Hue (from the March 10, 2008 issue of Newsweek, yes the 10th, they are very precise! It was $4.95 but I got it for free at the library!!! haha) and raises the question (one I haven't really thought about to be honest), why has the color drained out of contemporary art? Hmmmmmm? Now that I think about it, is it true? According to the article, much of the art of the past 50 years has centered around using color to convey a bigger point, rather than having pretty colors to stare at in a museum. The artists of the past actually used color conceptually to make an intellectual point. (But can't art still have an intellectual point behind it, if the artist so wishes it to? YES!) Actually, for the past 30 years beauty hasn't been a prominent factor when it came to the masterpiece of the century. Artists today stand around in their studios and say, "Hey these colors would look pretty together!" (But is there a problem with this? To be honest I'm working on one of these paintings myself in art!) Anyway, artists before had a predetermined system or picked their colors by sheer chance. My question is, isn't picking colors by coincidence almost the same as at random like today? Many suggested Pollock was making his paintings at random with no meaning behind them, but Pollock insisted the effects were intentional.

So, is this good or bad? Were the better paintings produced a century ago or was modernism a movement of much needed change? Without this change in perspective would art still be so popular? Would all of our paintings still be commissioned by a church, only to make points and convey stories/morals like those of the Renaissance? It's hard to say.

Some argue that modern artists focus more on form and leave color out in the cold altogether. I say that anything that can be done in color can be done just as well (or maybe even better) in black and white, with a who cares about pretty colors at all attitude. (I myself have to admit that I love black and white photography!) (Another point, I find it amusing that in a time when there was only black and white TV would they be so obsessed with vibrant colored paintings, maybe that was the reason; they were mad about dull TV shows!) (Just a thought!) Those on the other end of the color spectrum though, they insist that color is the most relative ingredient in art. In order to fully understand the artist's use of color you have to psychically see it. And the mood of the picture depends on the brightness/dullness of the color and the background/setting it's placed in.

I'm torn on this one honestly, I'll continue to ponder but I kinda disagree. I enjoy colors for the sake of colors! I mean I like being (or at least seeming to be) intellectual sometimes, but other times I think it's best to keep things simple. Less can in fact be more sometimes. Art of all things should be the last thing to invoke stress. I say just set back and enjoy, whether it's in color or not.

-Brittany =D

"Painting is just another lowbrow craft of interchangeable, off-the-shelf parts." -Andy Warhol

If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em!

Hello, Brittany here, who else would it be, it is my blog! Do I really need introductions anymore? This is like my 8th post and we all know why I'm here.

So this weeks article is titled "Days of the Leak" and it's not talking about ceilings! No, it's talking about music being leaked before the initial release date. Nowadays, there is no such thing as a album that can't be heard before its release date. Absolutely everything leaks sooner or later. The question is when, how, and what does this mean for the music businesses sake? The truth is, virtually 100% of the time, if someone wants to hear a song they will be able to obtain a free copy of it somehow. And the sad part is, and I quote "No matter how many download attempts they foil, content-protection services act as little more than speed bumps."

So, how exactly does a record get leaked?

• At the studio (leaked a whole four months before scheduled release date!)
• At the label (three & a half months)
• By the press (this is the most common; three months)
• At the plant (one month)
• At the warehouse (two weeks)
• And then there's the actual retail where it becomes available to everyone else who didn't get the early leak.

Okay, so now that I've established that leaks happen, regardless, is it actually a bad thing? The answer may be no! The industry is freaking out over this phenomenon, but is it worth it? Take Linkin Park's latest Minutes to Midnight for an example. It was leaked 11 days early and sold 623,00 copies in the first week! The question remains, would that number have been different if it had leaked earlier, and would it have been higher or lower? This is the great debate that has everyone on edge.

Most artists rely on the boost they get from reviews to influence better record sales, but could these positive reviews come from leaks as well as magazines? Today there are hundreds of blogs, bulletin boards, livejournals and such devoted to posting the latest downloaded cites to leaked albums, and could they be helping the music business more than they hurt it? Some insist a leak is only going to hurt if the record is bad. Leaks get people talking about the album and if it's good more people are going to buy it. It's like getting those awesome free samples at Wal-Mart, you don't want to buy the product it you're not sure it's good first, and if it is you'll most likely end up buying the product you sampled. Leaks also cut back on the money spent to promote the music, 'cause it's already out there.

The days where nobody could hear a record until it's release date are over, and it's time we all realize this. Besides, even if the culprits are found, nothing much can be done to stop them. I quote "It's not like we're gonna hunt that person down and give him 50 lashes."(I just threw that in because I found it amusing!) In fact they would be sent a "sternly worded e-mail" or at most have to "write a letter of apology". OOOOWWWW! That's horrible, a letter!!!!!!! The deadly, attack of the English assignment, that will show them!

So, in conclusion, labels should just go with it, and use it to their advantage. Bands should learn to embrace it instead of going out of their way and wasting their time trying to stop people from hearing their music. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!!!!!!

I got this awesome article out of the August 2007 issue of Spin if you're interested. It's not exactly educational, but if you love music and music related articles this is the magazine for you! Thank you, and good night! =D

"If the whole world's singing your songs, and all of your paintings have been hung, just remember what was yours is everyone's from now on, and that's not wrong or right, but you can struggle with it all you like, you'll only get uptight." -Jeff Tweedy(Wilco)

Shows Worth Watching.....Fall Apart That Is :D

Hello fellow bloggers! It's Monday and we all know the reason I'm here.

Before I even get started I have to note an important moment in history:
Today at roughly 5:28 p.m. the song We Didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel was played on the radio!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =D Sorry, it's just that I haven't heard that song since like 8th grade!

Okay, lets get started on this weeks article. So yesterday I was looking at the newspaper (I know!) and found an interesting article in Parade. It may not be important to most people, or even entertaining but it got me fired up. It's about the new fall lineup (we're talking TV here). It's not really so much that I'm going to watch these shows, as it is what they are that concerns me. The 2008-09 season includes 10 dramas, 4 comedies, and 3 reality/game shows. This sounds great right? Surely with all these "new" shows there's going to be something for everyone to get pumped about. WRONG! The truth is- 7 out of 14 scripted debuts are original concepts! That's only half! :[ Ah, tis a tragedy indeed!
So, the reason I, along with devoted "artists" of all kinds, care is because of the fact that creativity is officially dead! 7 out of 14! America seriously needs help, pronto! Where's the creative process these days? Are Americans to lazy to entertain themselves? Or should the lazy ones step in and demand something worth plopping on the couch for!?! A couple of my previous articles are about certain things (good and bad) becoming obsolete, but TV shouldn't be one of those things. Since we are in the age of technology (love it or hate it) there should at least be something worth sending a satellite signal over.
So, what are these shows? Well they are either updated versions of old shows (the same concept with a "hotter" cast) or shows popular in other countries (same concept........."hotter" cast). (What? it's the truth, it seems like all Americans care about is looking at a pretty face, instead of actually coming up with a show worth watching!)

• First up is (drumroll please).............NBC's Knight Rider. Yes, that's right, apparently we didn't get enough of talking cars and David Hasselhoff in the 80's!
• Then there's 90210 on the CW. I don't know about you but I just can't get enough 90's high school drama (yes, this is sarcasm!).

Then there's the shows adapted from other countries. I'm not saying these are going to be horrible, just look at The Office, it's doing great and it's hilarious. All I'm saying is we need to come up with our own ideas instead of stealing them from other countries and hoping they won't care/notice.

• First there's Life on Mars adapted from a popular English drama about a present-day cop that wakes up to find himself in the crime-ridden 70's. Wooo, but can they pull it off?
• Next, Worst Week (also English) about a hapless would-be groom trying to impress his future in-laws. A little piece of advice, if this concept hasn't worked by now, STOP TRYING!!!
• Eleventh Hour (yet another we stole from those poor Brits) about an elite scientist investigating experiments gone wrong. Why didn't we think of this? (probably b/c we can steal it easier!)
• Kath & Kim an Australian comedy, featuring a relentlessly tacky mother-daughter duo.
• The Ex List from Israel(!) about a thirty-something finding love with one of the men she's already dated. Sigh, another hapless (not to mention hopeless!) dating comedy.

Then there's the "new" show that doesn't fit into either category but doesn't seem any more exciting:

• Crusoe, yeah you guessed it, based on the 18th-century novel! Wow, is this really going to work? It's like Pocahontas meets prime time! This time around Crusoe next up Moby Dick!! (haha)

Aside from there being few new shows there are also fewer big stars. Instead we're hiring unknowns (who don't know what they're getting themselves into), or we're stealing other countries actors as well as their programs! Most likely because actual stars see the pathetic stab we're taking at entertainment and get the vibe that America doesn't care, so why should they.

A few shows that are original:

• Do Not Disturb
• Fringe (the only one that has a slight chance of making it in my opinion)
• The Mentalist
• My Own Worst Enemy

But will these be any better, honestly. I'll be surprised if any of these shows go further than a single season! Is anyone actually excited about any of these shows?

Like I said before I obtained this information through Parade in the newspaper, it's the Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008 issue. Hope you enjoyed reading! I'm excited to hear your comments about this one!

-Brittany <3

Is Insanity a Geniuses' Secret Weapon?

http://people.howstuffworks.com/mad-genius.htm
This is the source of my latest article^. Yes, a real web site!!!!!!!!

So, it's blog time again! I believe I've found a pretty interesting article this week, at least it makes me feel better! I happened to see it as one of those "latest things in the news" kind of things on my Yahoo home page.

Okay, so now I'll actually tell you what the article's about! It's talking about how some of the most intelligent people to ever live were actually mentally insane!!!!! :] This is not a new topic, everyone has been suspecting poor Einstein for years. However there is proof to back it up this time around. Historians have been interpreting letters and works of those crazy geniuses and have come to the conclusion that they really were quite mad (most likely b/c no one commented on their blogs! haha). Anyway, the article also claimed that "creative types" (poets, painters, musicians, etc.) are more likely to be dignoised with bipolar disorder than the general (meaning normal and boring) population. Some of the people that had bipolar disorder include: writers Mary Shelley, Virginia Woolf, and Ernest Hemingway; and painter Jackson Pollock!! They go on to say, "Creative people possess little to no 'latent inhibition,' the unconscious ability to reject unimportant or irrelevant stimuli. The normal person classifies an object, and then forgets about it, even though that object is much more complex and interesting than he or she thinks. The creative person, by contrast, is always open to new possibilities." WOW, look what I can do!!!!! Well, I don't know about you but that clears a lot up for me!

So, Here's another thing I learned and found rather interesting-

The Top 5 Mad Geniuses are:

5. Sir Isaac Newton (didn't expect that did you?, that's b/c he has an important title like Sir. Proof that it can happen to anyone.)
4. Ludwig van Beethoven ( give him a break for crying out loud!)
3. Edgar Allan Poe (I still love you Poe, I never expected anything less!)
2. Vincent van Gogh ( WHAT?? This guy wasn't crazy at all, he only chopped off his own ear!!!)
And, drumroll please, the moment we've all been waiting for
The number one mad genius is:
1. John Nash (yeah, maybe he was a little messed up, just a little! haha)

Yea, that was fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, that's pretty much my blog for this week I hope you like it.
I'll leave you with a question to contemplate:

Were these geniuses really crazy, and vice versa, do you have to be crazy to be a genius???????????

It's Not For Me To Say

Greetings, Brittany here!

Once again it's Monday night, and once again I'm blogging about an article! Besides the fact that I have nothing better to do, I have to admit I've become obsessed (and it's only week three)!
So moving on, my article this time around is ironicly titled Let's Think Outside the Box of Bad Cliches. Why is this title ironic you might ask, this is because it's about phrases that we often use when writing and conversing that are overused and most of the time shouldn't be used at all.

My last article was about handwriting becoming obsolete, and while we may not have to worry about that happening for quite some time, certain phrases and cliches used when writing are becoming obsolete and even extinct. And according to the professor who wrote the article it's about time! The professor was grading papers one night when he noticed how often phases such as "It goes without saying" or "Who can say?" were repeated by his students. But it's not just students using them, even doctors do it!

Some of the cliche phrases include:

• It's raining cats and dogs (you know you've said it, should I call the Humane Society?)
• It goes without saying (so why say it?!?)
• Who can say? (how about the writer?)
• He literally won by a landslide (was it literal? Does anyone need help?)
• Pushing the envelope (huh?)
• Take a leadership role (can't anyone just lead these days?)
• Beyond the shadow of a doubt (what?)
• Leave no stone unturned (what for?)
• In the nick of time (thank goodness!)
• Bores me to tears (if you're crying it's most likely not very boring!)
• On the bubble (I don't have a clue either)

And then theres the cliches that are simply redundant:

• Mass exodus (is there a small one?)
• Foreseeable furture (yet I've never heard anyone talk about an unforseeable one!?!)
• Forgone conclusion (verses a "non-forgone" conclusion?)
• Broad daylight (is there a narrow one?)

So after reviewing these cliche phrases, with the help of my comments, we discover these really are cliche phrases that are overused, unnecessary, and even redundant. In other words, after furture review I agree with the professor! However, I can see where this problem gets it's roots. These phrases are used everyday by everyone and we've all grown accustom to hearing them and most likely even using them. To be honest, before I read this article I used many of these phrases and even encouraged their usage! I actually thought that by using them I sounded intelligent and was impressing my peers and teachers (not making them roll their eyes!). I learned my lesson and a few other things along the way. So, leaving no stone unturned (haha) I leave you with one final question:

Has this ever happened to you?

My answer is, beyond the shadow of a doubt!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (just kidding)

If you are interested, this article is in the August 6, 2007 issue of Newsweek. Yes, once again I used an actual magizine, and once again it was a trusty Newsweek magizine!

What About Bob?

Imagine this... It's around 7:30 a.m. and I'm getting in the car to go to school. I turn on the radio to my favorite station 101.5 The River (a classic rock station), hoping to hear something besides early morning radio conversations. I succeed and happily find the song "Take on Me" ( an 80's gem) playing, I stop and think for a second-has this station ever played this song before? I don't think so! But I push my thoughts aside, it's early and it's a great song. It goes off and another follows. At this point I'm thinking wow no commercials!?! But my lucky streak comes to an end when I discover the song being played now is by 3 Doors Down (eww!) and I know somethng is definitely wrong, my fav station would never play this song, being strictly a classic rock station only! I keep listening (to find out just what has taken place) and find out this new station is calling itself BOB FM (I know, what kind of radio station is named BOB?) and it is a mix station. I am devastated. However, I keep listening because they're actually playing some really good songs, not to mention some I hadn't ever heard on the radio, at least not around here. And then it dawned on me, I love this station! This is exactly what our area needs! Around here the stations are straight forward, and now I realize srtaight forward is boring. It was either classic rock (what I was listening to, which to be honest was ACDC, Pink Floyd, The Stones, Led Zep, Areosmith, repeat, which gets old fast), country (which I hate), or pop and hip hop/rap stuff (which I also hate). BOB is amazing, it may be a mix station but every song is good. It's like they know I'm listening and know not to dare play country or rap! I'm listening to it right now, in fact I can't stop listening to it (I never know what they'll play next and fear I might miss something good). What have I been hearing since I've started typing? Everything from Bob Marley to Rod Stwart (no joke!). So, if you love almost every type of music (especially 80's rock) tune in, it's 101.5 BOB FM and it's great!