Miles Davis, The True Cool Cat (Sumbmission #4)

Miles Davis. Many hear this name and shrug it off. "Who is that", "Is he someone important?" these are the  frequent questions of a musically uneducated person. This post is focused with bridging the gap of ignorance in order to open up the eyes to more people and how this men like Miles Davis can change the face of music. With trumpet in hand, Davis flows out his soul into the air mixing melancholy with the exciting and sometimes confusing. There is a solid formality to him, a "swagger"  he carries that most don't, and it makes him who he is. His music is the embodiment of his own soul. Miles Davis, at the time of his very first recording, was a bit of an outcast in the music industry. A man with no direction, but only when he met John Coltrane(another powerhouse in the jazz age) did things start to change. In his 58' sessions, Miles produced his famous "Milestones" album, which in today's world, stands as a pinnacle of jazz imagination and interpretation. This sparked the term "Kind of Blue Period" and many believe that his works within from, 1955-1961, to be his greatest works ever. This period was a phase of typical jazz style music, not branching out for new innovative sounds. But there is something about his music, a feeling one can't pin down, that makes Miles stand out. Even today, many jazz artists use miles as a comparison Miles Davids, but there is no real comparison. His works redefined what "bop" jazz could be. His sextet burst onto the scene and he caught fire, a ragin' blazing fire. But like many artists, Miles wanted to push his music forward, and create something never heard before. Well in the 1960's he did just that. By this time his style was well known, and Mile's was yearning for something different. Teaming up with Gil Evans, he produced albums that incorporated his renowned jazz style with classical orchestrations. An odd pair at first glance, but his "Sketches of Spain" album was also a fresh breathe in the jazz world. With wild electric bass riffs along with the fluid sounds of cellos, Miles reinvents what jazz can be. New broad colorful sounds added a sense of eeriness to his works. Sounding almost too weird to be music but not so weird as to cause disconnect with the music itself. Gil's original compositions pushed Miles even further. He redefined jazz He would go on to do this several times throughout his life. Therefore, as obvious as anyone can predict, from 1957-1968 was called the "Sketches of Spain Era". His colorful blending of typical jazz lines and classical orchestrations pushed Miles to the forefront of the jazz era, and people were getting excited. Miles produced albums that incorporated smooth tones with basic superimposed rifts and sometimes would create music that's so complex in style and life that it just seems hard to understand. This was Miles' goal, however. Miles went through a couple of period redefining, re-imagining, and reshaping. His flamboyant complexities made Miles one of THE BEST jazz artists of all time. Even his Funk Era helped define who he was. Mr. Davis embodied what music could be. Miles is truly the cool cat of the music biz.

Short list #4 Possible Submission Posts

To start off with, I want to do something a little different. I want to focus more on music this week. Specifically Jazz artists, which in today's desensitized society, aren't given enough credit.

1) I would really like to trace and discuss the music of artist Miles Davis. From his Kind of Blue music period all the way to his "Bitches Brew" album, Miles Davis has redefined music in his own image and has really shaped the American Jazz culture. Combining jazz rhythms with funk riffs he embodies all of what music can be and goes above and beyond what anyone has ever expected.

2)Charlie Parker. This is a man whose jazz saxophone skills revolutionized an entire nation. Through him, the form of bebop jazz sax was creating. Inventing a common style which is still heavily used by modern saxophone players today. He sold out concerts during the swinger era of the 1930's his amazing performances stood as a testament to his skills with a sax. Like Miles Davis, Charlie Parker started a music revolution.

3)Louis Armstrong was a man who, like the two I've already discussed about briefly changed the way people view music. From his well known interpretation of "What a Wonderful World" to many of today's jazz standards, Louis has stamped his image into the music hall of fame, so to speak. His rustic voice combined with his impressive musical skills with a trumpet. His New Orleans style of music has transcended music history and his style, is an almost forgotten form of music. Louis Armstrong.

Middle School Response

Middle School. An awkward time for most young adults, but for some, it seems easy. This episode of This American Life, is called "Middle School". This segment illuminates all the troubles, pains, and sometimes pleasures of being in Middle School. This episode spans six acts, acts that deal with a lot of different kids. Each  kid adding to the horrors already explained by the previous, making it seem as if Middle School was a torture house. From school dances to making new friends, Ira Glass explores what it means to be a Middle School Student. The first segment and the Intro serve to open up the floor for discussion and critical thinking. Examining many different students and getting their opinions on the famous, first dance. These stories are not only fascinating, but eye-opening,  letting even me relive those often awkward and traumatic experiences.


This first act opens with different reporters from around the country interviewing kids about their school dance. But this is no ordinary dance, oh no, this is the famous first middle school dance. A kid named Ethan was interviewed and shared his opinion. He said he didn't care so much about the dance in general, but about leaving a good impression with the other students and faculty members. He didn't want to do something that would "be the talk of the school" for the next few days and possibly weeks. When asked about his plans for the dance he gave a very timid response, indicating a sort of fear within him. A fear that we have all come to experience and eventually conquer, but for Ethan, however, it seems more disturbing. In addition to his fears about being embarrassed, he had fears of another first-time event that takes place at these upscale soirees... The slow dance. For many students the slow dance represents all that is adult, a ceremony, a rite of passage from childhood to young adulthood. A ceremony not wished to be ruined or destroyed but the naivety of the sixth grade body. When asked about he, he didn't know "how it was done" or "how to do it right". A problem many of us faced, a problem not solved until we dove deep into that floor of darkness.


Another one of the problems many faced during Middle School was making new friends. In the case of Leo, it can be a thing of pure, disdain. The transition from simple Elementary School life to the new beast of Middle School, all the while forced to the bottom of the pecking order of the Middle School hierarchy can can create much confusion. Especially when you are forced out of your comfort zone and into the wild green yonder of mixed classrooms and new people. For Leo, he's had to endure this situation twice. Once in New York and another when he moved from New York. Sarah Koenig reports on this fragile boy to get the whole story and when she delves deeper, Leo's situation appears much more frightening than people realize. When asked about the move he said it was tough and difficult, but the hardest part, for him anyway, was being thrust into a new school environment. A place where he considered a double outcast. Making new friends, to him, seemed an almost impossible task, a task many of us have struggled with. His feelings of anxiety are reinforced only by his shy timid nature upon the move. A sense of foreboding grimness lies within him as he tries to sort his situation out. Sarah asked him about his plans and throughout Leo commented on the radical notion of getting on a "Greyhound bus and leaving". Sarah was surprised to hear such talk from someone so young, and who has so much to look forward to. These images Leo depicts are disturbing to say the least and really opens the eyes to many adults who have children in Middle School, letting them know that this is a time when kids need their parents advice the most, a time where heavy social pressures combined with the pressures of school can really take a mental toll. This leads into the final part and conclusion.


The conclusion of this podcast, or Act Six, beings with another story about an outcast at a private school. A school among the most prestigious in the state, and even nationally recognized. This focuses on a student who has many social problems, not just with making friends and the school dances, frequent problems arising from the mouths of most normal new students with the most normal Middle School anxieties, but with life at home as well. This is a student who shows up to school dirty and stinky, without his proper attire, and without school work or materials. One may question why this student is even at this school, I know that I certainly did when listening to this particular story. A teacher, Shannon Grande, tries to intervene to see what sort of problems this kid is facing and what solutions they can come up with. In the end, they came up with a way for him to get clean in the morning and properly ready to prepare for the day. He was found a teacher to help him with his homework, but in the end, these problems took a toll on his social life at school. A disagreement turned into a nasty quarrel, words shot from mouths as if they were fired from a Colt .45 ready to kill anyone that stood in their way. Emotions running hot, and Grande stepped in to simmer  the situation. In general, I found this particular podcast to be of great use in realizing the social problems of myself, but of these young kids too. It really helps to illuminate all the frustrations with other people, whether it be fellow Middle School students or coworkers. This piece really caught my attention and it deserves a well though out response.

Middle School informal post

I realize that I have forgotten about the short response to the podcast. Oh well. Here I go now...

The complexities of the mind-entrapping jail that is middle school can be quite overwhelming. Ira Glass, along with a handful of reporters, tries to understand what kids go through during middle school. From grade six to grade 8, possibly 9 in some areas, kids are tossed into a pool of uncertainties and are expected to swim efficiently. Kids from across the country are interviewed and are asked to give their opinions on their upcoming school dances, and for most of us, the middle school dances were like a void to be stared into with fear. Ethan, a timid sixth grade boy was interviewed, he was afraid of the slow dance. For him, along with other new sixth graders, he didn’t know how to slow dance. All Ethan wanted was to be normal at the dance, and not make an obscure scene that would be the talk of the Middle School for the next several weeks. Like Ethan, another middle school student, Autumn, was asked by five boys to go to the dance, and her considerate nature prevented her from giving these boys straight answers. The feelings of these new middle school students are feelings we have all had at some point, after listening to this podcast, I looked over at my friend and started discussing our first experiences of school dances and how awkward those were for us. I guess, I understand where these kids are coming from, these feelings only become more complex as you get further into middle school. Full response coming soon!

Spartan Reader Submission #2

This photo comes from one of the galleries off of Its Nice That. I really liked these photos and the way they were captured and just their appearance in general. These works were crafted by a Spanish man named Pablo. These photos convey a sense of eerie limitlessness. In the background appears to be what looks like a normal spacious room but after taking a few steps out the room is crowded a dark fog like entity almost. Destroying what space this room once held and bringing a new perspective into the room. Most of his works are like this one, where a nice background is crowded by something in the foreground. You can't make out exactly what the thing in the foreground is, but for some reason you know its right where it should be. It makes the right impression and leaves the right thoughts in your head. The fog repels the light, absorbing it almost, and is free to expand into the room sharing its gloominess to the far corners. Reaching out horizontally as if spreading its wings like a vulture, perhaps gives the casual onlooker a sense of self-dissatisfaction almost. The crowdedness of the room conveys the crowdedness(although not a word, I like it) of our own lives. The free life we think we live is crowded by mundane things such as, taking care of your kids, driving to work, even sleeping. Our lives crowded by things we just wave off. I absolutely love this gallery and the works involved and Pablo captures our lives through eerie photos. This is absolutely fantastic and I love the vibes his work gives off, whether they be good vibes or bad vibes, I love them.

Our Man in Havana/ Umberto Eco

 Our man in Havana: pg. 110-end /The name of the Rose: 0-50

This post really encompasses two weeks of reading and I realize that I have not posted about a book in a while. In my absence of posting I have finished Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana and have started Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. After finally finishing Our Man in Havana I have come to realize that it was not my favorite book. Maybe it was because the plot wasn't as riveting as I thought it might be, or perhaps the characters were not that interesting. However, I find this book to be extremely well crafted and the undertones and themes shine through fantastically. I love the way Wormold interacts with the characters and really develops meaningful relationships with his daughter, Milly and his senile, German friend, Dr. Hasselbacher. I love the way Greene uses POV to leave us with just enough information about the characters in order to craft our own opinions about them. This POV, being the third person limited that it is, really helps develop the novel as a whole. It gives the audience and chance to formulate their own idea about the characters and react to situations a certain way. I do not want to ruin the novel for anybody else who is trying to read it but all I can say is that if you pick up this book you will NOT be disappointed with it. Everything works perfectly with one another to create a truly suspenseful and captivating spy thriller. Its a pretty short read, one you can get done with in two weeks, so I highly recommend it.

OK! This is the second part of my post. This next book is called The Name of The Rose by Umberto Eco. I have read The Prague Cemetery  by him this past December. I really like his style of writing because of lot of it is period pieces. His writing is really complex and very hard to get through sometimes. One of the things that I really like about his book is the prologue/introduction. This really gets you into the whole period of the writing and what sort of political and economic things were going on in that time. It is very well written and extremely informative. This story is about a Franciscan monk who becomes involved in a bizarre string of murder.  Brother William, one of the Franciscan monks has to become Italy's detective and solve this string of murders. A lot weighs upon his shoulders as he struggles between what is morally right and ethically right. This is one of the major themes in this book and one that, upon completing this book, I will look into. What can you do when you are confronted by two opposing codes, one of morals and one of ethics? Which path do you follow, but more interestingly which one will Brother William follow. I am really attracted to old style detective books like this, I have read a series of books by Michael Georgio, another Italian Author who wrote about a detective living in Prussia( While it was still called that). I love these kinds of novels and I am extremely excited to get into the meat of this book. Again, I would classify this book as a popular fiction combined with literary fiction because the emphasis is toward the plot and how it is resolved and the Franciscan monks choices and ultimately his character himself. The next post about this book will be in about a week, this novel is hard to get through so this book will take me a little while to complete. More to come, what will Brother William do next?! muaha! (Just kidding)

Submission Entry #1

Tilting your head, eyes cockeyed, lips pursed, all motions in pursuit of the apparent hidden meaning. Faded faces, faded colors, faded minds, thoughts that occur to one as they attempt to analyze contemporary art; sculptures with lifeless limbs, paintings twisted with blues and pinks. Exhibit halls walked by a pair of wandering eyes and crowded brains deciphering all around them, clueless on how to do it, and perhaps there is no way to. The forest of metal and plaster bound to be rooted in all history, molding their place in the courtyard or grand show rooms, the story of life and how it ends. Art. 

Three twisted blocks upon, what looks to be, a concrete slab display a sense of rustic dullness. Lifeless in motion and in color, and the absence of exuberance open up its precious space for imagination and illustration by the gazing minds. The drab blocks hold up one another-holding upon a grim visage of loneliness-simplicity while upholding a standard of integrity. The three geometric shapes, mere images of each other, wind upward as if stretching toward the sky, beauty without complication or exaggeration; perhaps to find the deeper meaning of this model we must look inside ourselves first. Searching for an answer upon which these white blocks reside, sturdy and rigid.

There is a void between these blocks, their bended nature surrounding a lone space destined to be lone forever. The twisting spire of space between the blocks suggest a grim desperation, the frantic escape from our own destiny. This powerfully simple piece serves to illuminate the voids in our lives and maybe offer a hand of hope, as seen through the blocks supporting one another, of escaping our destined path, if there is such a thing.