I've noticed that in other blogs, some people write about random things that are going on in their lives. Since I can't seem to think of a specific topic to write about, I think I will do the same.
Academically, this year has not been going that well. I feel like I'm doing mediocre work in all my classes when I could and should be doing a lot better. This semester is a little different in that I'm working two jobs, but I don't really think that it's interfering with my schoolwork. I just never got into the groove of things after summer ended, and I've kind of been winging it the whole semester. I was really encouraged when my favorite professor praised my writing and called me a "bright student." But he also added that I'm pretty lazy and that I need to manage my time better.
I love to learn, but I feel like there's not enough application in what's being taught. That's why I was really looking forward to taking the the model U.N. course, but it has been cancelled because Danopolous is taking a sabbatical (darn). Am I making excusing for my laziness? Most likely yes. I just need some kind of inspiration to get me to work my butt off.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Friday, October 12, 2007
Radiohead - pay what you want
Radiohead just released their seventh Album, In Rainbows, and they're letting people decide how much they want to pay for it. The album is up on their website, and if you chose to pay nothing it's perfectly legal. I love the idea of artists getting their music directly to their fans, and reaping all the profits for their work and talent instead of greedy-ass record companies. Having such a huge name in the music industry cutting out the record label is very new and innovative, and it really shows how the interwebz is changing things up.For those who aren't familiar with Radiohead, they're one of the most popular, creative, experimental alternative rock bands of our time. They're most popular songs are undoubtedly Creep and Paranoid Android, and here's a video of one my personal favorite songs, Talk Show Host.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Starbucks
I've been working at Starbucks for the past four months, and shoot me, I kind of like it. I like whipping up drinks for nice customers, making my own (mostly nasty) drink creations, joking around with my awesome coworkers, and learning about coffee. I don't feel that Starbucks is too bad as a multi-national corporation either.The company is always charged with unfair trade practices, homogenization/unoriginality of their coffee shops, and driving out small businesses. But isn't it the same way for other corporations? I feel like all capitalistic businesses have the same practices - they drive out smaller business, they use overseas child labor, and they have standardized stores. But at least Starbucks treats their employees well, sells some fair trade coffee, and helps out in the communities they're in. I feel that people are more repulsed by the coffee culture Starbucks has created (Iced quad half-calf venti nonfat vanilla latte anyone?), and maybe just the sheer amount of stores they have. But I think it's just easy to criticize Starbucks itself rather than the system of capitalism, in which some people are going to be stepped-on on the way to the top.
I just got a second job on-campus as an office assistant, and it's probably the worst job I've ever had. It's one of the most easy and convenient jobs I've had, but the tasks they assign me is so mind numbingly boring, it's kind of driving me crazy. I basically file the whole time and it's really tedious. (I really hate getting paper cuts too.) I just feel that so many jobs set you to up to be a mindless drone, but I don't feel like Starbucks does. Am I being niave?
(Image source: class v)
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Classical Music
Recently I've been listening to a lot of classical music, and I actually did some research on different musical forms and composers. I swear I'm not that big of a nerd; I used to play piano and flute when I was younger! Well I want to write a post on the basic structure of classical music forms, and share some of my favorite songs for you to listen to!
A symphony is a long piece of music meant for an orchestra with four movements:
1. Fast
2. Slow
3. Playful ('scherzo') or dancy ('minuet')
4. Rondo (fast and furious! with an alternating theme of ABACADA)
Sonatas are composed for one or two instruments, and consists of three or four movements:
1. Fast
2. Slow
3. Playful ('scherzo') or dancy ('minuet')
Concertos feature a soloist accompanied by an orchestra, and has strictly three movements with a fast-slow-fast pattern.
Serenades and divertimentos were composed for easy listening at social functions such as parties. They usually have more than five movements, and were written for winds, percussion and bass, and strings.
Fantasias and rhapsodies deviate away from strict forms such as a sonata, and is instead written in a free form according to a composers whim.
Dances were composed for dancing, and is characterized by a steady rhythm and repetative theme. It usually has a title with name that sounds like a dance, like 'waltz'. Suites are several musical movements dances grouped together
Usually a famous piece of classical music is just one movement from the whole song. For instance, the famous Moonlight Sonata (the piano as the choice instrument) is only the first movement of three movements. The third movement is not as recognizable, but it's pretty awesome. It's intense and furious, and has crazy fast fingerings that only skillful muscians can play. Check it out. (Moonlight actually deviates away from the sonata form I listed above, and is referred to as a 'quasi una fantasia,' or almost a fantasy)
Okay that was pretty boring. Here, listen to some songs!
Frederic Chopin - Fantasie Impromptu
Antonín Dvořák - Bohemian Suite
I'm also really into hip-hop, but that's another blog post! Bye!
-Michelle Park
A symphony is a long piece of music meant for an orchestra with four movements:
1. Fast
2. Slow
3. Playful ('scherzo') or dancy ('minuet')
4. Rondo (fast and furious! with an alternating theme of ABACADA)
Sonatas are composed for one or two instruments, and consists of three or four movements:
1. Fast
2. Slow
3. Playful ('scherzo') or dancy ('minuet')
Concertos feature a soloist accompanied by an orchestra, and has strictly three movements with a fast-slow-fast pattern.
Serenades and divertimentos were composed for easy listening at social functions such as parties. They usually have more than five movements, and were written for winds, percussion and bass, and strings.
Fantasias and rhapsodies deviate away from strict forms such as a sonata, and is instead written in a free form according to a composers whim.
Dances were composed for dancing, and is characterized by a steady rhythm and repetative theme. It usually has a title with name that sounds like a dance, like 'waltz'. Suites are several musical movements dances grouped together
Usually a famous piece of classical music is just one movement from the whole song. For instance, the famous Moonlight Sonata (the piano as the choice instrument) is only the first movement of three movements. The third movement is not as recognizable, but it's pretty awesome. It's intense and furious, and has crazy fast fingerings that only skillful muscians can play. Check it out. (Moonlight actually deviates away from the sonata form I listed above, and is referred to as a 'quasi una fantasia,' or almost a fantasy)
Okay that was pretty boring. Here, listen to some songs!
Frederic Chopin - Fantasie Impromptu
Antonín Dvořák - Bohemian Suite
I'm also really into hip-hop, but that's another blog post! Bye!
-Michelle Park
Friday, September 14, 2007
Sicko
I wanted to write about health care for our 100W research paper so I'd be more knowledgeable about it, but 'K-Dub' suggested that it might be too broad of a subject. Well, maybe writing a paper on it would be difficult, but I recently watched 'Sicko' and there was one part that I really like that I want to discuss/paraphrase.
Moore interviews a British Parliamentary member who gives an interesting theoretical view of health care. He states that if people really voted for those who represented their interests, that would be a real democracy. But, in a capitalistic society, there is an unequal balance of power and influence in favor to the rich. In a way, it favors the elite to have a shitty health care system because debt causes hopelessness, and the hopeless don't vote.
He says that two ways people are controlled are if they are frightened or demoralized. An educated and healthy people are harder govern because they challenge the system, but a population of depressed, downtrodden individuals tend not to see that they're being screwed over by their government, or in this case, the health care industry, and rather take orders and just hope for the best. He believes that people don't really have a choice in what kind of health care system they want, because "choice depends on the freedom to choose, and if your shackled to debt, you don't have freedom to choose."
I wish I remembered the name of the Parliamentary member, cause he's one smart dude.
-Michelle Park
Moore interviews a British Parliamentary member who gives an interesting theoretical view of health care. He states that if people really voted for those who represented their interests, that would be a real democracy. But, in a capitalistic society, there is an unequal balance of power and influence in favor to the rich. In a way, it favors the elite to have a shitty health care system because debt causes hopelessness, and the hopeless don't vote.
He says that two ways people are controlled are if they are frightened or demoralized. An educated and healthy people are harder govern because they challenge the system, but a population of depressed, downtrodden individuals tend not to see that they're being screwed over by their government, or in this case, the health care industry, and rather take orders and just hope for the best. He believes that people don't really have a choice in what kind of health care system they want, because "choice depends on the freedom to choose, and if your shackled to debt, you don't have freedom to choose."
I wish I remembered the name of the Parliamentary member, cause he's one smart dude.
-Michelle Park
Friday, September 7, 2007
'The Truth About the Pay Gap'
I'm currently taking a political science class on 'poverty and society' with Ken Nuger. I think his habit of sitting with legs spread open all the time is hilarious, but that's another story. He was going over various types of inequality in class yesterday, and he briefly discussed about the pay gap between females and males. Women are paid 70 cents for every dollar men make; for the same job and with the same qualifications, or so he said. I wanted to raise my hand and disagree, but being super shy, meek, timid, etc, I didn't. I'm going to provide a response on the 'interwebz' instead. Take that Nuger!
Right out of college, with the same degree, vying for the same job, a women will start out with less money than her male counterpart. But an article titled, 'The Truth About the Pay Gap' argues that it's not necessarily discriminatory practices that is causing the gap, but more subtle issues:
1. Women tend to enter professions such as teaching, psychology, and the humanities, instead of higher paying professions such as business or engineering, and are more likely to go into non profit work and local government.
2. The homemaker role is still mainly attributed to the the wife and the mom, so woman tend to be more family oriented. Women often take time off on maternity leave, and work less in order to spend time with their kids. So on average, men tend to put in more hours at work.
3. Women aren't told to be leaders. Those in power are men, and in their collective psychology, women don't attempt to reach the highest positions of power.
If women were paid less to do the same job, by the same logic, more employers would hire women in order to be more cost effective! I think the notion of a discriminatory pay gap is a scapegoat to the real issue - institutionalized gender roles. How are we supposed to remedy that? Stop giving girls Barbie’s and discourage them from playing "wedding" or "house" when they're younger. Instead make them play "power-hungry CEO" or "career driven doctor who ignores his family."
I'm only half joking I suppose. The issue is a lot more complicated. There's a book called 'Why Men Earn More,' and there is an article on Wikipedia that disputes the validity of the statistic of '70 cents to a dollar', but I'm not writing a research paper here thank god! I need sleep.
-Michelle Park
Right out of college, with the same degree, vying for the same job, a women will start out with less money than her male counterpart. But an article titled, 'The Truth About the Pay Gap' argues that it's not necessarily discriminatory practices that is causing the gap, but more subtle issues:
1. Women tend to enter professions such as teaching, psychology, and the humanities, instead of higher paying professions such as business or engineering, and are more likely to go into non profit work and local government.
2. The homemaker role is still mainly attributed to the the wife and the mom, so woman tend to be more family oriented. Women often take time off on maternity leave, and work less in order to spend time with their kids. So on average, men tend to put in more hours at work.
3. Women aren't told to be leaders. Those in power are men, and in their collective psychology, women don't attempt to reach the highest positions of power.
If women were paid less to do the same job, by the same logic, more employers would hire women in order to be more cost effective! I think the notion of a discriminatory pay gap is a scapegoat to the real issue - institutionalized gender roles. How are we supposed to remedy that? Stop giving girls Barbie’s and discourage them from playing "wedding" or "house" when they're younger. Instead make them play "power-hungry CEO" or "career driven doctor who ignores his family."
I'm only half joking I suppose. The issue is a lot more complicated. There's a book called 'Why Men Earn More,' and there is an article on Wikipedia that disputes the validity of the statistic of '70 cents to a dollar', but I'm not writing a research paper here thank god! I need sleep.
-Michelle Park
Thursday, August 30, 2007
This is my official first post! I am a little anxious to be writing for an audience, even if it is most likely an audience of one (greetings Professor Wood!), but I am also kind of excited to be writing on a consistent basis because I really need the practice. Writing in a conversational style will probably make it much easier to make grammatical errors, but I hope I don't slip up and use too much slang. I will try to 'bling out' my blog later, but for now, here is an awesome painting:
I just discovered Salvador Dali and he has easily become one of my favorite artists. I don't know much about him yet, other than that he was a Spanish surrealist artist with a crazy mustache, but his art is great. (You can find most of his stuff here if you are interested.)
Well, I hope everyone has a shitty labor day weekend, as I will be working all three days.
-Michelle Park
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