yeah-yeah’s blog

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.C.K!

nobody@vox.com(squints) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 20:24:29 -0400

I'm so pissed right now! I just feel like crying! My boyfriend is being such a douche bag! I feel like I can't trust him and that he's doing something behind my back!

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oh sheeet

nobody@vox.com(squints) — Mon, 05 May 2008 21:43:16 -0400

Prom is on the 17th of may. Thats friggen 11 days from now. I tried on my dress again today and I think I've gain some weight, dang it. ugh so I have like a week and a half to lose some weight, not a ton, just enough so I can zip my dress with ease haha! Maybe i'll go get some special lingerie thats smooths out curves and slims the waste haha Maybe I'll get some spanks. I'm not saying i'm fat. I'm pretty small but am basically all fat and no muscle. It sucks big time. But there's probably plenty of people who have it worse than me so maybe I should keep my comments to myself.

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The countdown beings...

nobody@vox.com(squints) — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:17:00 -0400

Today is May 3rd...
I graduate June 28th.
That's 55 days from now.
That's 7 weeks and 6 days.
The year is going by so fast....
And there is so much that I need to get done!!!
oh no! I'm going to go do that.

Goodbye!

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gahhh!

nobody@vox.com(squints) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:12:57 -0400

i'm graduating in like 3 months! I can't even believe it. wow lol

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Diego Rivera: Revised

nobody@vox.com(squints) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 14:07:43 -0500

Sarah Place

Studio in Painting 8

January 2, 2008

Master Artist: Diego Rivera

Diego River was born and grew up in 1886 in Guanajuanto, Mexico.

Throughout the years of his European life he spent much of it in Paris. In Paris he was able to see many pieces from famous artists such as Paul Cezanne, who seemed to like still life and more specifically fruit, and Auguste Renoir known for his painting called “Luncheon of the Boating Party.”

What Rivera was trying to do was find a new form of painting, and guess what? He did! He realized what his type of medium was when he began to study the Renaissance frescoes of Italy. A fresco is “the art or technique of painting on a moist, plaster surface with colors ground up in water or a limewater mixture”, “with a sense of “painting on fresh mortar or plaster”” or what have you. Rivera really believed in making art that could be viewed and appreciated by the public so he became well known for painting murals. I suppose that is also another way to describe what a fresco is. “A mural painting done on fresh plaster” At this time Diego returned to Mexico. He began to paint his murals in universities and in other public buildings. This was his way of getting his art out into the public and the everyday lives of the people. He enjoyed making frescoes that had a lot to do with big parts of Mexican history, everyday Mexican life, and the “future of humanity.” His paintings focus mostly on social issues and the hardships of everyday life. He liked to use his paintings politically to speak for the growing population of underprivileged in Mexico. He also used his paintings to make a statement about his beliefs and ideologies such as his belief that Communism would help to overcome the hardships of the poor. Because of the size of frescoes he felt that he could really get the “grand themes of the history” perfectly. What interested me about him was honestly just that I liked one of his paintings that I had found in the art room. However, as I began to research Rivera I was compelled by his life, what he did, how he painted, basically everything. Although I really do not like that he had so many wives and affairs but it makes him all the more interesting. In terms of history, a lot of it happened during Diego’s time. For example, The Russian Revolution, the sinking of the Titanic, the Roaring 20’s, and The Mexican Revolution. The Mexican Revolution played a huge part in the inspiration of his art. However, by being a human being he had a life outside of painting. Diego in his lifetime had had 4 wives; and it seemed as though he couldn't live without one. Because of his, what seemed to be like a fear or addiction, he rushed into marriages which resulted in, many times, divorce. Of all his wives the most well known was Frida Kahlo, who was coincidentally another artist.

Their history together resulted in a stormy, yet very famous, relationship. When they married Diego was forty two years old and Frida was twenty two. Although they had a twenty year age difference that is not was makes their relationship so famous. They were known for having many love affairs while married. At first it was only Diego having the affairs being the woman obsessed man that he was, and Frida was said to be able to turn her head the other way and not think anything of it. That was until Frida began to have love affairs of her own, with both men and women. Her most well known affair was with Leon Trotsky, a Marxists and a firm believer of permanent revolution. Sometime after this affair and after 10 years of marriage the two artists filed for divorce in 1939; only to find out that they would be getting remarried to each other the following year. They were then married for another 14 years until her death. She was, by far, one of his greatest inspirations. Even when they were separated or having their affairs, he still held his love for her, and that love was a lot.

As stated in the previous paragraph Rivera’s main medium was a fresco. One of his most famous paintings is “Man at the Crossroads.”

“Man at the Crossroads” is most known for being the mural in the lobby of the RCA building in Rockefeller Center. It was, however, later destroyed for it's portrait of Lenin. This mural of his seemed to have taken a lot of time, effort, and concentration. It is curious to think of how someone has the ability to even attempt something as huge and detailed as this.

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Master Artist Paper:Diego Rivera

nobody@vox.com(squints) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:05:07 -0500

Sarah Place

Studio in Painting 8

January 2, 2008

Master Artist: Diego Rivera

Diego River was born and grew up in 1886 in Guanajuanto, Mexico.

Guanajuanto is the capital of the Mexican state of Guanajuanto. It is interesting to know the most of the passageways in the city are widely used by only pedestrians because modern traffic uses huge stone tunnels underground and by the river instead of throughout the city itself. As a historical, picturesque and agreeably visually stimulating city it is no wonder Diego River grow up there. However he did not live not live there for long because when he was in his twenties in 1907 he moved to Europe where he studied painting. Throughout the years of his European life he spent much of it in Paris. In Paris he was able to see many pieces from famous artists such as Paul Cezanne, who seemed to like still life and more specifically fruit, and Auguste Renoir known for his painting called “Luncheon of the Boating Party.” What Rivera was trying to do was find a new form of painting, and guess what? He did! He realized what his type of medium was when he began to study the Renaissance frescoes of Italy. A fresco is “the art or technique of painting on a moist, plaster surface with colors ground up in water or a limewater mixture”, “with a sense of “painting on fresh mortar or plaster”” or what have you. Rivera really believed in making art that could be viewed and appreciated by the public so he became well known for painting murals. I suppose that is also another way to describe what a fresco is. “A mural painting done on fresh plaster” At this time Diego returned to Mexico. He began to paint his murals in universities and in other public buildings. This was his way of getting his art out into the public and the everyday lives of the people. He enjoyed making frescoes that had a lot to do with big parts of Mexican history, everyday Mexican life, and the “future of humanity.” Because of the size of frescoes he felt that he could really get the “grand themes of the history” perfectly.

However, by being a human being he had a life outside of painting. Diego in his lifetime had had 4 wives; and it seemed as though he couldn't live without one. Because of his, what seemed to be like a fear or addiction, he rushed into marriages which resulted in, many times, divorce. Of all his wives the most well known was Frida Kahlo, who was coincidentally another artist. Their history together resulted in a stormy, yet very famous, relationship. When they married Diego was forty two years old and Frida was twenty two. Although they had a twenty year age difference that is not was makes their relationship so famous. They were known for having many love affairs while married. At first it was only Diego having the affairs being the woman obsessed man that he was, and Frida was said to be able to turn her head the other way and not think anything of it. That was until Frida began to have love affairs of her own, with both men and women. Her most well known affair was with Leon Trotsky, a Marxists and a firm believer of permanent revolution. Sometime after this affair and after 10 years of marriage the two artists filed for divorce in 1939; only to find out that they would be getting remarried the following year. They were then married for another 14 years until her death.

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gov paper

nobody@vox.com(squints) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 06:49:56 -0500

Sarah Place January 1, 2008

Obesity Paper Period 1

Over the decades, overeating has become a real problem in America. Currently over one third of America’s population are obese as reported by the United States Center for Disease Control. The number of overweight and obese people is just increasing constantly. It has been found that every one out of four Americans eat at a fast food restaurant every day. Also childhood obesity has become a huge problem. (a) [The number of children and teens that are overweight has doubled within the past decade.] (b)[One cause of this is if a woman has gestational diabetes during pregnancy the child’s likelihood of becoming obese between the ages of five and seven nearly doubles. If it is treated the child’s risk is reduced greatly.] Now why do many of these overweight people wonder why they are overweight and even blame others for their problem? Well many factors contribute to obesity that many people do not even realize. Such as dehydration, lack of sleep, video games, and other factors. When will people realize how badly they are hurting their bodies, immune systems, and lives by being overweight? Moreover, when will they actually start doing something to help their problem?

(cc) http://www.wellingtongrey.net/

According to the above chart we are the fattest country in the world. Now it is time we do something about it.

(a)[Greenblat, Alan. “Obesity Epidemic” CQ Researcher. 31 January, 2003: 13-4. Online.]

(b)[Pechman, Rachel Rabkin. “Obesity: Surprising Way to Reduce the Risk.” Parenting. Newsbank. December 2007/January 2008: Online.]

Obesity is an issue that deals with psychology more so than anything else. Obesity can be defined as very fat, overweight, or corpulent. Obesity is a major issue because it endangers the health of billions of people around the world. (c)[For a long time Obesity has been the second leading cause of preventable death right behind smoking. Recently it has been found by federal health officials that Obesity has now taken over smoking as the leading cause of preventable death.]

(c)[Stein, Rob. "Obesity Passing Smoking as Top Avoidable Cause of Death." The Washington Post 10 Mar. 2004. 1 Jan. 2008 .]

When it comes to the different sides and views of obesity there really are any definite sides. One side could be of the people who are overweight but do not have enough will power and perseverance to lose the excess weight so they just give up and believe that they will always be overweight and cannot lose the weight. This happens to millions of overweight people. Another side to the issue could be that it is not the public’s responsibility to deal with the problem. It really is not the public’s problem at all. The individuals, who are overweight, are responsible to choose whether they want to stay overweight and take the health risks that come with that or to lose the weight and become smaller, happier, and healthier.

It is quite apparent that the problem exists judging by all of the overweight and obese people we see around us everyday in the grocery store, at work, at school, at home, on television, they are everywhere. There have also been many studies done that prove the existence of obesity although it is already quite apparent. It has already been proven to now be the leading cause of preventable death. (d)[The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have conducted many studies centering on Obesity. Such as Obesity Trends

Contributing Factors, Health Consequences, Economic Consequences, Childhood Overweight, and many others. The trends study shows how as the years increase so does the amount of overweight and obese people. The above chart shows the amount of obese adults in each of the 50 United States in the years 1991, 1996, and 2003. In 2003, the minimum percentage of obese adults was no less than 15%, which is actually quite a lot. It can be seen that certain states such as Alabama, Mississippi, West Virginia, and Indiana have had a trend of being of the states with the highest percentages. Also in the chart it can be seen that states such as Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico are some of the states that have always had the lower percentages of obese adults.]

(d)[ "Obesity and Overweight." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 17 Nov. 2007. Department of Health and Human Services. 1 Jan. 2008 . ]

We are becoming so overweight that there are reality television shows about weight lose such as The Biggest Loser. (e)[The Biggest Loser is a show where 18 of over 250,000 obese Americans are selected to compete to lose the most weight in a time span of about three months. There are two professional trainers on the show to coach and push the contestants to their physical and mental limits. The trainers really work them hard. Each week there is several challenges to test physical strength and perseverance and to challenge the contestants with temptations such as donuts and funnel cakes. Through out the week the contestants work with their trainers to lose as much weight as possible in a week. At the end of each week, there is a weigh in to see how much weight each contestant lost, or in some cases gained, that week. The two lowest scores are the two contestants eligible to be voted out by their fellow contestants, but only one is voted out a week.] (f)[While this show may seem amazing and inspirational to it’s viewers it can also be very harmful to lose that much weight in that short of time.] One man in season two, his name is Matt, lost 26 pounds in one week. It seems amazing but really, it is very bad to lose that much weight so quickly. (f)[Also viewers of the show set unbelievable weight loss goals for themselves like they saw on the show. However, no normal person has enough time in their everyday lives to dedicate to losing weight.]

(e) [The Biggest Loser. NBC. NBC. USA. 2004-present.]

(f)[ Weil, Paula E. "Big Losers, But Can Viewers Keep the Pace?" The New York Times 18 Oct. 2007, sec. G.1. ProQuest. Sidney High School. Sidney High School, Sidney. Keyword: Obesity.]

With a subject like Obesity, many causes and factors have been researched and proven contributors to the issue. Three of the main factors are the accessibility of certain foods, imbalance in energy/compulsive eating, and the Entertainment Business/National Icons. The Economical factor of obesity would be the accessibility of certain types of foods because the ones that create fat and cause weight gain are the least expensive and more readily available. For example, the fast food industry spends so little on the products they use to make their food. The products are cheap because there is a lot of it (examples; corn and potatoes). Mostly every kind of food in our restaurants and in our grocery stores has some kind of sugar in it that comes from corn like glucose and fructose. (g)[Morgan Spurlock’s documentary film about the dangers and health risks of fast food restaurants, known globally as Super Size Me, takes a first hand look into one of the world’s most famous fast food restaurants, McDonalds. Morgan Spurlock, a very healthy man, decided to take on the challenge of researching what McDonald’s foods do to the body by going on a one-month diet of eating purely McDonalds and nothing else. Everything had to be from McDonalds, even the water he drank had to be from McDonalds. There were no exceptions. At the beginning of the film he interviewed some people on the streets of New York, all being overweight people as well. He asked questions such as “How many times a week do you eat at fast food restaurants?” and “What is your favorite fast food restaurant?” One boy answered that he ate at a fast food restaurant at least 3 times a week and his favorite fast food restaurant was Taco Bell. This boy was overweight, most likely to become obese as an adult as this happens with many overweight children. In the film, a woman compares the sizes of the meals now to way back when the restaurant first began. It showed the difference between a small order of French fries and a large order of French fries. They also showed how their used to only be one size of French fries and it was the size small of today. Now while thinking of the amount of people that eat fast food a day (1 out of 4) and the size of the fast food meals they’re eating it turns out to be a lot of food, and bad food at that.]

(g)[Super Size Me. Dir. Morgan Spurlock. Perf. Morgan Spurlock. DVD. Kathbur Pictures, 2004.]

Some people may say, “Well why these overweight people don’t just eat healthier, or make food at home?” Well many people become overweight from not having enough time to go home and make a nutritious home cooked meal every night. In many cases, the victims of the fast food temptations are of the middle working class. Some people work two or three jobs just to be able to live and provide for their families. They do not have the money to buy healthy or organic foods. Therefore, they only have one more option, and that is the cheap food with all of the preservatives in them like TV dinners and frozen chicken fingers. (h)[The Psychological factor of obesity would be imbalance in energy and compulsive eating. The imbalance of energy is when a person is taking in more calories than they are burning calories.]
(h)[The Hormone Foundation, The Endocrine Society. "Causes of Obesity." Obesity in America. .]

If someone is taking in more calories than they are burning calories then that means that they are going to be gaining fat, losing energy, gaining fatigue, and this all contributes to the psychology of the person. When a person gains fat or weight they automatically think that something is wrong with them and that people notice the extra 2 or 3 pounds gained. As humans our thoughts, feelings, and lives revolve around what others say about us and what others think. (i)[That is where eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia come in. People feel that they are three times larger than they are and they are afraid of other’s opinions so they develop the eating disorders that they intended to help look good and feel good about them when it really just hurts them very much. Eating disorders do not only consist of ways to become thinner but there are also eating disorder that make people eat more. It is called compulsive eating or binge eating. Compulsive eating is;

Boston College Counseling Services. "Compulsive Overeating." Brown University. 7 Mar. 2007. Boston College. 1 Jan. 2008 .

“Compulsive overeating is characterized by uncontrollable eating followed by feelings of guilt and shame. It is different from bulimia in that it does not involve any purging. While it inevitably results in weight gain, it is also not to be confused with obesity. Not everyone who is overweight has an eating disorder.”

Compulsive overeating as stated in the above quote is not to be confused with obesity. Nevertheless, it is a factor in the obesity issue and does cause psychological problems in people. In many cases, compulsive overeating is used as a way to fill gaps or holes in one’s life. Usually if a person does not have a love life or the person in their love life is not giving them the love that they need they tend to resort to other things like food for comfort and support. Food is used not as a necessity to live but as a way to cope with stress, emotional distress, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and other problems.]

(i)[ Boston College Counseling. "Compulsive Overeating." Brown University. 7 Mar. 2007. Boston College. 1 Jan. 2008 .]

The Political factor of obesity would be political leaders cannot be obese or overweight because people will not accept it. When looking back on our political leaders and historical figures they have all been at a good weight and have always looked presentable when in public. It is more likely that a better-looking healthy person would be elected into office or into other positions of importance than someone who is overweight, and not as healthy looking. It is not only seen in our presidents but everywhere in the media. Celebrities serve as role models and national icons. Whether we admit it or not, everyone at one point or another wants to be a celebrity. However, what we see on television and in the magazines is not always real. There is so much editing and airbrushing, surgery, dieting, training, and make up that go in to making these people look perfect. Moreover, we as humans desire to be perfect. However, once it becomes apparent to us that we cannot be perfect it can lead to chronic depression and other psychological disorders such as Compulsive Overeating.

Because obesity is an issue that the public is not responsible for dealing with, as stated in the second paragraph, there are not many actual policies that are directly made directly to treat the obesity problem. However, there are policies that draw restrictions on certain types of oil on ingredients. It seems as though the government is not doing much to prevent or treat it, it only makes the problem worse. The government could be setting standards for lunches in public schools. They could be requiring a certain amount of exercise a day for public schools. (g)[In the film Super Size Me, they tour certain schools such as this school in Wisconsin who has a reputation for having a very good and very healthy lunch program. It showed that the students in this Wisconsin school are better in class, and are healthier (physically and mentally). In addition, they showed that the lunch program the school in Wisconsin has is just around the same price as a normal school lunch program. In another school in Illinois, Madison Jr. High School, they have a required exercise education class where the students are required to exercise to promote healthy habits and keep them at a good healthy weight. It is one thing to have an exercise education program like this one in a state that promotes and applies healthy eating and exercise. However, to have a school like this one in Illinois, one of the fattest states in the nation, is amazing and more schools should be taking this idea and applying it to their own school environment. There is an elementary school in Massachusetts that only has gym one day a week for students. The gym teacher was interviewed by Morgan Spurlock about this and asked whether he though this was an efficient amount of exercise needed for an elementary aged child. The gym teacher did not think it was enough at all. Children, especially ones as young as that, should be getting as much exercise as they can so they can develop good habits of exercise so they do not become overweight or obese when they are adults.]

(g)[Super Size Me. Dir. Morgan Spurlock. Perf. Morgan Spurlock. DVD. Kathbur Pictures, 2004.]

The government has really put it up to the states to decide on policies. Such as, Nutrition standards in schools, nutrition education, BMI, Physical Activity/Recess/P.E., and nutrition information on school lunch menus. Those were the State Legislation Childhood Obesity Options in 2005. The national government is not doing anything; they gave the decisions to the state governments. Some state governments have set a few standards and policies but not much else. The local governments do control many of the policies in their area. Such as, schools have the option of choosing a healthy lunch program, exercise requirements, nutrition education, exercise education, and the like. It seems as though it is up to the schools to decide when it really comes down to it.

My solution would be to require people to exercise more. I would take away moving sidewalks, and escalators. Motorized scooters and wheelchairs would be reserved and could only be used by those who cannot walk, who are physically unable to, like paraplegics and people with broken legs. I would raise the tax on bad food and make it more expensive for people to buy and I would make food that is better for the body less expensive and more readily available to the public. I would set standards on fast food restaurants. For example, they would have a set closing time. The closing time would be between seven and eight o’clock and the opening time would be around five in the morning, to prevent people from eating in the middle of the night. I would require schools to have healthy lunch programs and required exercise and nutrition education. I would promote the idea of walking and bicycles for short distance travel instead of cars. There are so many things that could help treat and prevent obesity that it is baffling why we are not putting them into affect or at least trying them.

Effectiveness and Feasibility Chart

E F F E C T I N E S S

Bibliography

Online Databases:

Greenblat, Alan. “Obesity Epidemic” CQ Researcher. 31 January, 2003: 13-4. Online.

Pechman, Rachel Rabkin. “Obesity: Surprising Way to Reduce the Risk.” Parenting. Newsbank. December 2007/January 2008: Online.

Weil, Paula E. "Big Losers, But Can Viewers Keep the Pace?" The New York Times 18 Oct. 2007, sec. G.1. ProQuest. Sidney High School. Sidney High School, Sidney. Keyword: Obesity.

Magazines and Newspapers:

Stein, Rob. "Obesity Passing Smoking as Top Avoidable Cause of Death." The Washington Post 10 Mar. 2004. 1 Jan. 2008 .

Film and Television:

Super Size Me. Dir. Morgan Spurlock. Perf. Morgan Spurlock. DVD. Kathbur Pictures, 2004.

The Biggest Loser. NBC. NBC. USA. 2004-present.]

Colleges:

Boston College Counseling. "Compulsive Overeating." Brown University. 7 Mar. 2007. Boston College. 1 Jan. 2008 .

Internet:

The Hormone Foundation, The Endocrine Society. "Causes of Obesity." Obesity in America. .]

"Obesity and Overweight." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 17 Nov. 2007. Department of Health and Human Services. 1 Jan. 2008 .

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Les Choristes film review revised

nobody@vox.com(squints) — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 22:15:17 -0500

Foreign Film Review – Les Choristes

You may have noticed that Hollywood has been taking quite a plunge in the quality and diversity of their movies. It seems as though they are all about either the end of the world, people getting pregnant, or anything involving guns and fighting. For example, “The Day After Tomorrow”, “I am Legend”, “Juno”, “Live Free and Die Hard”, “The Bourne Ultimatum”, and the highly acclaimed “Knocked Up”. Well unlike the movies us Americans are making, people in other countries such as France, Spain, and China are making movies that are worth the wallet draining expenses the theaters steal from us and they could actually affect our lives in ways unimaginable. Foreign films such as “Amelie” (France), “Pan's Labyrinth”(Spain) and “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”(China). All were nominated and won many awards, the critics seemed to love them as well. And each was not your everyday run of the mill Hollywood blockbuster. Each has a deeper meaning that is just awaiting to be discovered by it's viewers.

“Les Choristes”, known as “The Chorus” in English, is a French film about a failed former music teacher, Clement Mathieu, who becomes a Prefect at a boarding school for troubled boys. Upon meeting the boys Clement did not think they seemed entirely problematic. But as time progressed and he came to know the environment of the school, other employees, the boys, and the devil of a headmaster he realized how troubled the boys really were, and the reasons of their insolence. It was not long until he learned the course of punishment of the school, which did not seem right to him at all, so he encompasses new methods that could change the boy's lives and the lives of others forever. These new methods however do not grow seemingly well with the Headmaster, Rachin. Rachin believes in harsh punishment, physically beating, malnourish, and solitary confinement while negotiating, and helping is more Mathieu's style. While watching the movie it sort of draws you in and makes you feel as though you are a part of it all. It plays with your senses and emotions throughout the entire 94 minutes. One moment you will be filled with happiness, another you will be grabbing for the tissues, then you will be appalled and terribly angry with one of the characters. All together this movie was beautifully made mixing in both dramatic and comedic elements that balance the film and gives it the potential to be on many top 10 movies lists throughout the world.

It was disappointing to learn at first dialog that the whole film was in French. However, as the movie progressed the subtitles became a part of the movie it became much more fluent and less a chore to read the subtitles. If the movie was made or even just dubbed in English, it would not have given off the feeling it did and the meaning would have changed completely.

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Les Choristes film review for journalism

nobody@vox.com(squints) — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 13:28:45 -0500

Foreign Film Review – Les Choristes

You may have noticed that Hollywood has been taking quite a plunge in the quality and diversity of their movies. It seems as though they are all about either the end of the world, people getting pregnant, or anything involving guns and fighting. For example, “The Day After Tomorrow”, “I am Legend”, “Juno”, “Live Free or Die Hard”, “The Bourne Ultimatum”, and the highly acclaimed “Knocked Up”. Well unlike the movies us American's are making people in other countries such as France, Spain, and China. Such as “Amelie”(France), “Pan's Labyrinth”(Spain) and “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”(China). All were nominated and won many awards, the critics seemed to love them as well. And each was not your everyday run of the mill Hollywood blockbuster. Each has a deeper meaning that is just awaiting to be discovered by it's viewers.

“Les Choristes”, known as “The Chorus” in English, is a French film about a failed former music teacher, Clement Mathieu, who becomes a Prefect at a boarding school for troubled boys. Upon meeting the boys Clement did not think they seemed entirely problematic. But as time progressed and he came to know the environment of the school, other employees, the boys, and the devil of a headmaster he realized how troubled the boys really were, and the reasons of their insolence. It was not long until he learned the course of punishment of the school in which he he encompassed new methods which could change the boy's lives, and the lives of others forever. These new methods however do not grow seemingly well with the Headmaster, Rachin. Their ideas of how the school should be run and how the boys should be treated clash like oil and water. Rachin believes in harsh punishment, physically beating, undernourishment and solitary confinement while negotiating, and helping is more Mathieu's style. While watching the movie it sort of draws you in and makes you feel as though you are a part of it all. It plays with your senses and emotions all throughout the entire 94 minutes. One moment you'll be happy and joyful, another you'll be grabbing for the tissues, and another you'll be completely angry and horrified by one of the characters, and it's usually Rachin's fault.

It was disappointing to learn at first dialog that the whole film was in French. But as the movie progressed the subtitles became a part of the movie. If the movie was done in English it would not have given off the feeling it did and the meaning would have changed completely.

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Journalism Article # 3 Why are...

nobody@vox.com(squints) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 10:55:02 -0500

Journalism Article # 3

Why are people so...ugh. I don't understand how someone can be so nice to you one moment and completely wretched the next! I mean, honestly, what possible reason could there be to that dumb? Do they have something against you? Or are they just complete drama whores? Like there are these random people you know that send myspace friend requests. And well they go to your school, so whatev it's cool. I mean I would assume they want to be friends if they sent a “friend request.” But then during school all they do is stare you down and act as if you're this horrible person. I mean what the fug? They don't even know you. I find it quite funny though. They're just so dumb. It makes me laugh.

Then you have those hypocrites that are saying one thing and doing another left and right. Like on Mean Girls when Regina George says that she'll talk to Aaron Samuels for Cady but then she totally back stabs her by making out with him. Not cool Regina!

Or when people like to pretend to be better than they really are. It's like, come on, why do you do stuff like that? Like a couple people I've seen around the school. They make up stories and qualities of themselves that they really don't have, just to make themselves sound better or more likable than they really are so they can be friends with “certain people” that might better their status on the “social ladder.” It's ridiculous. Kind of like in the Social Studies department. (And you know what I'm not feeling very respectful right now so I'm saying sorry in advance.) When Wayne and Chad try to be all funny like Rob and Steve. It's just like, wow. Stop now before you embarrass yourselves even more than you already have. Chad is almost there at least he's kind of cool. But Wayne on the other hand...It's just not happening for you. Sorry Wan-ye, but the misspelling of your name is the closest to cool you'll ever come. Okay so back on topic. Wouldn't you want friends that like you for you and not some fictional personality you put? Well I personally think it's dumb to change for other people. If they don't like something about you well then that's too bad! There's millions of other people to be friends with don't get worked up over one stupid jerk. Well of course it's okay to change for people but only if they are also willing to change for you too. It works both ways.

And what about those people with the 5 personalities? Like some people that I have unfortunately come across in my life. They act different for every person they meet. It's like they try to fit into every clique, no matter how cliché it is. They try to fit in with the jocks by playing sports, they eat humus and go to protests to fit in with the hippies, they're in drama club to try and make themselves feel like “real actors”, they lay in the dark and cry while listening to Hawthorn Heights so they can say they are the emoest emo ever, they buy a few pet rocks and go to concerts and “mosh” with all the other “straightedge” scene kids until someone gets a limb torn off from getting spin kicked in the face because they are “soo hardcore”, and then they spend $200 on 3 Hollister shirts and a pair of Abercrombie pants just so they can fit in with the rest of the idiotic human population that don't have minds of their own. Seriously though, who are you? Pick a personality and get over yourself!

You know sometimes I just hate all people in general for their complete lack of a brain. I've noticed that the older you get the more artificial and heartless people get. I mean come on! When you're more fake than Paris Hilton you really need consider getting some help. I don't know the last time I even talked to a real person. Maybe a decade ago, when I was like 7, when people didn't care the least bit what people thought about them. Someone's picking on you? You didn't go tell the teacher, you went right up to the person and kicked them in the shin. And that was the end of that. Soo not something to get worked up over. Sometimes I wish I was back in elementary school. The work was waay easier and the people were soo not as dumb. Once you get to high school and even middle school is all just drama, and drama, and even more drama. But well I guess it does make life a whole lot more interesting. Don't you think?

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