My Favorite Recordings

By Alan Farinas

My favorite recording is of some music from The Roots. They are a hop hop band that are one of the few that still use live instruments. They can be seen playing on the Jimmy Fallon Show. This particular song is titled seed 2.0 It doesn’t necessarily relate to my life or anything, but it makes me want to dance uncontrollably. It sums up the time when hip hop was still positive and more of an art.

My favorite oldie is “Smooth Criminal” by Michael Jackson. I brings back so many memories from my childhood. And like the song from The Roots it also makes me want to dance, but more like Michael Jackson. The songs construction and his conviction behind his words just made me feel so cool. That’s my favorite type of music. The kind that uplift me and makes me want to get up and move.

My favorite recordings by john palalia

my favorite recording of 2011-2012 would be a bachata song named poquito a poquito recorded in south america, i heard this song on the radio. its a bachata song that talks about falling in love little by little , yes i am a romantic and i love this song because its pretty unique, and authentic.

my favorite recording of all time would be the song in un’altra vita by ludoviko. its one of my favorites because i performed to it. its an amazing piece of art. very few times can people listen to a piece of music this good in popular stream media.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYiFdXW8fx0   (poquito a poquito)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-whS3PD53qE  (in un’ altra vita)

Movies

My favorite movie from 2011-2012 had to be Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. It was more because it concluded a series that I had been a fan of for most of my life. I’ve been a Harry Potter fan since before I could read and had to have my dad read the stories to me. The movie itself was cinematically pleasing to be sure. The final battle scene was everything I pictured it to be and that was most of what the last movie was about. I’m sure there are a list of critiques a mile long, but I was entertained by the movie, and that’s why I watch movies. Here is the link for IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1201607/?ref_=nv_sr_2.

My favorite movie of all time has to be dodgeball. It’s a comedy and again the critiques are a mile long, but they always are for comedies. I’ve seen this film so many times that I could recite most of it by heart. However the thing that sticks out the most is the dynamic between Vinve Voughns character, Peter Leflour, and Ben Stillers character, White Goodman; the two of them were absolutely hilarious together. Here is the IMDB link for Dogdeball: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364725/?ref_=nv_sr_1.

Here’s the link to the Dodgeball trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzBCBcLH_Lc

blog #4 movies

My personal favorite movie of 2011-2012 was The Hunger Games. It was so action packed but at the same time was a love story with a great message. I was very happy Hollywood came out with such a flavorful creation. I saw the Hunger Games in the movie theaters with my boyfriend, the first weekend it came out, because based on the commercials, we knew it was a must see film. Now my favorite movie of all time, would have to be 1993 movie, The Sandlot. I think I fell in love with this movie one summer I was staying at my cousin’s house, everyday my mom would drop me off before she would head to work and I would watch it with my older cousin who would always say the lines before the actors would. I ended up growing up and doing the same.

The Sandlot: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sandlot/

The Hunger Games: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_hunger_games/?search=the%20hunger%20games

Blog 4: My Favorite Recordings, by Armen Vardanian

My favorite song of 2012 and my all-time favorite, by Armen Vardanian

One of my favorite songs recorded in 2012 was a song called “Panopticon” by alternative band “Smashing Pumpkins.”  What I like the most about this song is that its heavy and aggressive music riffs are covered by enormously soft lyrics, which leaves the listener wondering – what happens next.  Panopticon is a type of prison where the prisoners can be observed all the time by the guards.  The song reflects some sort of hope that inmates cherish all the time, by showing that there is a beautiful soul in every human, despite the fact that the transgression was committed.  The main theme of the song is “There’s a sun that shines in.”

The first time I heard this song was when I purchased the CD of “Smashing Pumpkins” in 2012.

Here is the link to the YouTtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxT8DxeGwXM

My all-time favorite song is called “Comfortably Numb,” by rock band “Pink Floyd.”  The song was released in 1980, and had a great influence on me since then.  The song is about certain hallucination that goes back to the childhood memories, and the experience of calmness despite the pain and sadness.  The songwriter draws lines between his recollection of similar feelings from years ago and the current state of being.  The best part of the song is the guitar solo composed and played by band’s guitarist David Gilmore; this solo is ranked number two of all rock guitar solos in the rock music history.

I heard this recording in 1981 on LP, because the CD’s did not exit at that time.

Here is the YouTube video of this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FrOQC-zEog

Week 4: Movies or Recordings – Blog 4

By Manuel:

My favorite movie of 2011-12 was the Movie TED, the reason I like the movie is because, of course it was funny and I enjoy comedies, but what I mostly enjoyed I was watching that movie with my closest friends. We illegally streamed it so we didn’t have to pay money to watch it in the theaters. I enjoyed the movie but I enjoy the memory better because I rarely see those friends anymore. My favorite movie of all time has to be the first Toy Story movie, I remember watching that movie at my cousins house when my aunt she would babysit me. My cousin and I would always play that movie since it was one of the few movies he owned. We watched the movie on his TV and it was a VHS tape, which I believe he still owns to this day.

Ted:
-Rotten Tomatoes http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ted_2012/?search=ted
-IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1637725/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Toy Story:
-Rotten Tomatoes http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/toy_story/
-IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114709/?ref_=nv_sr_3

Embedded Trailer
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2052129305/imdb/embed?autoplay=false&width=480

Movies

The movie that topped my list during 2011 was “Limitless”. Directed by Neil Burger, the movie revolves around a mysterious pill that allows its user to access 100% of their brain compared to the notion of humans only being able to access 10%. The movie provides and insight on how the the brain is such a powerful tool that it turns a struggling writer to someone who can learn any language in a short time and master the stock market at the same time.

Picking an all time favorite movie seems like a serious commitment to one flick and I love movies too much to make such a decision. However, I would have to say that one of my favorite movies was Saving Private Ryan which was directed by Steven Spielberg. The movie paints an emotionally action-packed picture of WWII where it shows not only the bravery of the soldiers during war time but also their personality and character through those horrid events.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2114755097/imdb/embed?autoplay=false&width=640

My favorite Movies

Thomas Cyncor

One of my favorite movies from 2011-2012 is “Paul” because it is just so ridiculous. This movie is about an alien named Paul who escapes Area 51 and hitches a ride with two pot smoking friends. This movie is one of those Seth Rogan movies so you know the humor is going to be pretty crude but overall its not so bad for the whole family to watch. It’s hard for me to choose my favorite movie of all time, but lately I’ve been re-watching “In Bruges” a lot. I really enjoy this movie because it has the dialog you just don’t get in many modern movies. Collin Farrell plays a hit man who botches a job and inadvertently kills a little boy. The crime boss then sends them to Bruges in Belgium for Farrell’s character to meet his fate. Other than the dark humor which I enjoy so much, I like this movie because it humanizes the people who seemingly do the most inhuman things. This whole movie is pretty dark but they find a way for it to end on a high note.

“Paul”- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1092026/

“In Bruges”- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780536/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

#4: Movies

By: Karissa Louie

My favorite movie from 2011- 2012 is X-Men: First Class, because I enjoy watching science fiction combined with reality.  This movie has good character development and it is interesting to see the backstory, how Charles Xavier and Eric were friends before becoming enemies of each other. These characters are easy to connect to and allow the viewer to feel sympathetic to Magneto, the bad guy throughout the movie franchise, especially after understanding his decision to become the person he does become.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/x_men_first_class

My favorite movie of all time is Safe Haven.  This movie has a lot of character depth and I enjoyed watching the character move to an unfamiliar community, start her life over, begin developing new relationships and putting down roots.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/safe_haven/

Trailer Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj6i_Z1Srsw

Movies

By Hoa Ha. There were so many great movies that came out in 20011 and 2012, movies such as We Bought a Zoo,The Adjustment Bureau, Money Ball, The Dark Knight Rises, 21 Jump Street, and many more movies. However, my favorite of 2012 was Chasing Ice. Chasing Ice is a documentary about the glaciers in Iceland and how rapidly they are melting and to prove this the photographer James Balog the photographer goes out to Iceland to take photos of these glaciers. I usually tend to stay away from documentary’s because usually you hear one mono toned voice in the background for example March of The Penguins, and to me that gets boring. But this documentary was different, this movie gave me chills because the fact that glaciers are melting such at a fast pace, and you can also see the change in the movie from the first image to the last. James starts this thing called the Extreme Ice Survey, where he leave cameras in Iceland facing towards glaciers and every single hour until the daylight is gone , this survey is happening in a span of three years . I’ve seen Chasing Ice three times now and it continues to give me chills; the first time I saw it was at school, at DeAnza in my geography class. We were learning about global warming and what effects it has. This movie gives you some insight on what is happening because if you read a magazine and inside it they tell you that glaciers are decreasing by two percent every year, you would probably be like that doesn’t seem like a lot, that’s why in this movie when they show you the decrease in the size of glaciers using photos and comparing them you are just in aw at how much has changed in just three years.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1579361/?ref_=nv_sr_1

My favorite movie use to be Blackhawk Down however, that has changed because so many great movies have come out since then. My favorite movie right now is 42. The movie 42 is a movie based off of Jackie Robinson’s life. For those that don’t know who Jackie Robinson is, he was the first African American baseball player to play in the major leagues. Prior to this their were two separate leagues the Negro League and the Major Leagues. During the time that Jackie was playing, there was a lot of controversy because he was the only black baseball player in the league. I loved this movie because it showed how much courage and heart he had. In the movie there was this part when Jackie came up to bat and the pitcher hit him in the head with the ball and he did nothing because he knew that if he fought back he would just be giving the league what they wanted, a reason to kick him out. Jackie has changed the “American Game”, now when you watch the game it is very diverse, not just a “white man’s sport”. To this day Jackie Robinson’s jersey number is the only number that is retired throughout baseball. Once every year players are allowed to wear the number 42 dedicated to Jackie Robinson’s heroic acts as Jackie Robinson Day.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0453562/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Recordings by Dylan Clark

Could there ever be a more difficult task than to select an absolute favorite piece of music? After much deliberation I can conclude that my favorite recording from 2011 is “Empty Bones” by the GROWLERS. I love psychedelic beach-goth music and the GROWLERS are without a doubt, the epitome of such music. It’s washed up and lo-fi, grungy and full of cryptic topics- my favorite. A favorite oldie of mine would be “Here Come the Ho-Dads” by the Marketts. They’re one of the first surfer rock groups I heard, whenever this song plays I cannot help but to stomp my feet and groove. The saxophone is also killer in this track. I heard both tracks for the first time on vinyl.

Empty Bones- the GROWLERS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY696M0eC3A

Here Comes the Ho-Dads- the Marketts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hi99WEDRIg

Week 4: Films I Adore

by Alena Naiden

Kill The Messenger.

One of the best movies from the previous year for me is Kill The Messenger directed by Michael Cuesta. The film is based on a true story about journalist for the San Jose Mercury News Gary Webb, an author of the book Dark Alliance. Webb discovered a connection between the CIA and drug smuggling, and this discovery, in pair with his loyalty to high journalism principles, changed Webb’s life. The film is strong and psychologically deep, has action and humor in it.

Here is the link yo my review on it in LA Voz (with a  mistake in my job title):

Features: Kill the Messenger

Here is a trailer:

And here are the links to the film in other sources:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kill_the_messenger_2015/?search=kill%20thhttp://

Pulp Fiction

One of my all-time favorite movies is Pulp Fiction directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is classic, and I don’t think I need to retell the plot, especially regarding the fact that the storyline is very nonlinear, and the plot is not so important there. What I love about it is the style, irony, brilliant dialogues, eccentricity and just amazing soundtracks. It is interesting that when I first watched it, I didn’t like it at all; I think I was too small and just didn’t get it. Later, though, I was in love with the film and realized I need to rewatch all the classics right now.

Here is the link to its trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7EdQ4FqbhY

And here is the link to it at Rottentomatoes:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pulp_fiction/?search=pulp%20fiction

Blog # 4: Movies and Recordings

By: Alexandria Sellers

I have to say my favorite movie released between 2011 and 2012 was Les Miserables. This musical portrays the June Rebellion and the lives of contributors, especially escape parolee Jean ValJean. This musical’s acting is so rich it flows into the music. The story line itself is heard hitting, paired with masterful musical pieces rendered me speachless at times. As well the sets are well done, and may remind some watchers of their childhood due to parts of the set being repainted Harry Potter sets.

As for my favorite movie of all time, that is impossible. I honestly love so many movies it’s hard to choose. But one of my all time favorite movies is Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. This movie has very little dialog through it, mostly because the protagonist is a horse. The movie is about a wild stallion and his adventures trying to lead his heard and dealing with the “two-legs”. It’s soundtrack is worthy of awards and a masterpiece. Another tear jerker with spurts of well thought comedy, it rings true to my animal lover side and musical enthusiast.

good kid, m.A.A.d city

By Haris Pozega

I’ve been listening to hiphop since I was about 11 years old, my mom and dad hated hiphop so they wouldn’t introduce me to the hiphop music. Kendrick Lamar released good kid, m.A.A.d city in 2012 and it’s still my favorite album. I like the album most because you can see a clear story through the whole album and you follow Kendrick as he tries to break free from Compton where he grew up. The album is refreshing, not like the new hiphop music that’s all about girls, drugs and parties. It’s real, you can really picture his life in Compton. It gives people in Compton and similar areas hope, if he could make it, they can too. First time I heard this album was on Spotify but I also bought the hard copy. 

My favorite oldie is Return Of The Mack by Mark Morrison. I usually don’t like this kind of music but my dad loves to play this song when we travel once a year to Bosnia from Sweden. It’s a long trip, about 27 hours and we drive right through Europe so this song is on repeat several times. It reminds me of summer and whats not to like about summer? The format was a CD. 

#4: Radio and Television

by: Karissa Louie

Link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7QWoP6jJG3k

Length: 6:11

Description: Discusses how it affects the values and actions of children and teenagers growing up with social media.

Chapter: Chapter 2 Media Impact: Understanding Research and Effects, Chapter 10 The Internet: Convergence in a Networked World, Media Ethics: Understanding Media Morality

Quiz Question: Besides the glorified fame and success people receive on social media sites, what is the downside or negative part of social media?

Answer:  An increase in bullying victims.

Movies

By Jorian Lewke

My favorite recent movie was “The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty.” It depicts a Life magazine photographer that goes on this incredible, life changing adventure. It was inspiring and beautifully done, and I loved how it ended. My all-time favorite movie is “The Fault In Our Stars,” which was made as an adaptation of my favorite book. It’s the only movie I’ve ever seen more than once, and I could watch it a hundred more times. All of the actors are great, the story is incredible, and the sound track is absolutely perfect.

www.imdb.com/title/tt2582846/

www.imdb.com/title/tt0359950/

magazine idea by John Palalia

out of the all concepts on what i would do if had the chance to have my own magazine there is one that hunts me the most, its about having a magazine for things to do in the bay area for fun. it would be called bay area’s wonders and it would have a section for everybody sports, entertainment , art, activities etc. in my sport section i would list the things there are to do in the bay area like surfing in santa cruz, soccer in santa clara, water polo in san jose, it would sum up all the sports that people can attend as a viewer and also sports that people can actually do. in the entertainment section i would list all the things that are going on as far as plays, such as the ones at the san jose theater and farmers markets. in the arts section i would list the places to go visit and the special events that there are such as the new expositions in museums, also events such as first fridays in san jose where new artists expose their new paintings. for the activities i would list all the main scenes that there are in the bay area such as the volley ball scene at parks and at the beach, the social dancing scene in san francisco where people salsa dance in different clubs. this magazine would target all ages and also i would be updated monthly or weekly with new things to do and of course i would include ads from museums, clubs, and everybody who wants to put an ad on my magazine.

Magazine

By: Jorian Lewke

I would create a magazine called “Problems,” where multiple problems are presented and 3 or more writers present differing perspectives. Most magazines today feature one side of the issue, and I think it is beneficial to view multiple sides of every issue. I think that the type of people that will be interested in this magazine will be the people who are interested in the news, but are tired of having to look at more than one source to get the full story. There are currently magazines that are based on current events and politics, and I think they would be the competition. This magazine would be for people that choose to look at different perspectives easily.

Five advertisers:

• Apple
• Barnes & Nobel
• Quirky
• Adobe
• Amazon

Five articles:

• Threat of Climate Change
• 2016 – Who Will Run?
• New GOP Congress
• President Obama’s Legacy
• Creativity in American’s Education System

The cover would feature some graphic depicting 3 sides to a current event.

Magazine Ideas

By: Lyndsey Guida

I’m personally a huge fan of Pinterest, which is a website that involves “pinning” your own personal interests onto boards to refer back to later. I love this concept because everyone can contribute different recipes, craft ideas, and many other ideas for many other things. I would love to come up with a magazine called “Share it,” which is a magazine that takes ideas from the readers and publishes it for everyone around the world to see. Submissions wold be sent online, and would be put into the next subscription. The magazine would be broken up into different categories such as recipes, wedding ideas, crafts, etc. The point is to provide helpful and useful tips or ideas in person, and to create community through a reader organized magazine to reflect different ideas around the world.

Name: Share it

Concept: The content of the magazine is created and contributed to by the readers, not the company. It provides a sense of community to have everyone contributing to this one specific issue and collaborating with everyone around the world.

Demographics – Issues for every age and gender; no racaial or cultural restrictions; world-wide magazine and submissions

Competitors – This magazine is contributed by the people world wide; it consists of the common beliefs or ideas that many think would only happen to them.

Advertisers – Apple, Samsung, Target, Starbucks, and Facebook.

Articles – Articles would depend on the issue (kids, teen, men, women, etc.) Clothing, health, music, food, and social media. Positive articles that reflet community

Cover – The cover would be directed toward the genre of the issue, and would have a collage theme of some of the submissions for that issue with SHARE IT in bold in the middle and the pictures surrouding it.