Plagiarism v Sampling

Think about it. I can guarantee that at least once in your life you have plagiarized or thought about plagiarizing. How come people these days are fine with copy and pasting someone else's words but when it comes to music, you can't take a drumbeat without a huge lawsuit ensuing. I feel that the law is very inconsistent. I think stealing, whether it be someone's property or someone's words, should be treated the same. I know in some college's, plagiarism is dealt with immediate expulsion, but it's not the same everywhere. The same with sampling. Sampling is when one artist takes part of another artists work and uses it in their song. It can range anywhere from a 3 sec drum beat to the chorus of a very popular song. But if not cited correctly, the artists can easily get themselves into a huge, career-ending, lawsuit. MC Hammer samples Rick James' "Super Freak" in his song "U Can't Touch This." When you listen to either song, it is clear that one is based off of the other. If MC Hammer hadn't have cited his sample, he would easily get caught and prosecuted.

This is "Super Freak" by Rick James. Listen to both songs. It is clear that "U Can't Touch This" uses the beat from "Super Freak."

 

This is "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer.

Now think back to your high school paper, where you were short on time and it was easier to just copy and paste. When you think about it in the context of music, you wouldn't dare copy and paste. So why do it for school?

What's your costume for Halloween?

For this year's Halloween I'm dressing up as the Wicked Witch of the West from the book Wizard of Oz, my favorite book since my childhood. Since I could actually read books until I was in 6th grade, I was obsessed with Wizard of Oz and all of its series books. A kid's library in my church had an entire shelf full of Wizard of Oz books -- not just the original but all the sequels by other authors who expanded on the original later on.

Even though L. Frank Baum, the author of the original Wizard of Oz, never intended to write sequels, many young fans wrote and requested him to write more. Baum never wanted to write more but he eventually started to repond to the popular demand. From 1904, which is four years after Baum wrote his original Wizard of Oz, until his death in 1919, Baum wrote thirteen new books of the series.

After Baum died, the Wizard of Oz fans urged Ruth Plumly Thompson to write more. Thompson, who was a fanatic lover of Wizard of Oz, worked at Baum's publisher Reilly & Lee as a vice president. She wrote her 21 sequels between 1921 and 1939 mainly because she had to support her family. I remember storylines of every single book of Baum and Thompson; I remember that even though I certainly loved all of their books, the story became boring as the series went on. The stories were always about an American child with a talking animal traveling in the magical cities and meeting magical or enchanted creatures.

What makes Thompson still special is not the fact that people thought she was Baum's niece, or she wrote more sequels of Wizard of Oz than Baum. Thompson is special because her sequels of Wizard of Oz were beyond just novels. Thompson's Oz poems were collected and publihsed in 1992, two decades after she died. I didn't like this book, called the Cheerful Citizens of Oz, only because it was a 15 pages long pamphlet and I finished it in less than half an hour.

So many other artists and writers continued to produce sequels of Wizard of Oz that are not limited to paperbacks. There are so many films, comics, parodies, and most importantly, musicals such as Wicked, the life story of Wicked Witch of the West.

We Didn't Start The Fire by Billy Joel

We Didn't Start The Fire by Billy Joel

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio

Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe

Rosenbergs, H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, "The King and I", and "The Catcher in the Rye"

Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye

CHORUS
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it


Josef Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc

Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron
Dien Bien Phu Falls, Rock Around the Clock

Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland

Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev
Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Zhou Enlai, Bridge On The River Kwai

Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California Baseball,
Starkweather homicide, Children of Thalidomide

Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, Space Monkey, Mafia
Hula Hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go

U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land,
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion

Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson

Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician sex
J.F.K. blown away, what else do I have to say

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock

Begin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airline
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan

Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal suicide
Foreign debts, homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz

Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law
Rock and Roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning since the world's been turning.
We didn't start the fire
But when we are gone
It will still burn on, and on, and on, and on...

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire...

After doing this project, I realized that Billy Joel is probably the most creative genius in the entire world. He referenced SO MANY THINGS and got them all to rhyme and make sense. It must have took him so long to find things that represented conflict throughout the world. He chose controversial things that the everyday person would know, recognize, and understand. My hat goes off to the guy.

How to Deal with Bedtime Stories

Happy Halloween! If you do not want to go Trick or Treating, nor if you do not want to watch any horror or thriller movies, how about watching one of episodes from Supernatural?

Supernatural, created by Eric Kripke, is famous on-going television series, starring Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles as Dean and Sam Winchester. Their journey first started off looking for their missing father; however, as their journey continues, two brothers constantly encounter with supernatural creatures, such as demons, vampires, werewolf, and spirits, and they even tangle themselves into the trouble that cannot be easily solved.

In fifth episode of season three, Dean and Sam hear about a psychotic killer, who killed two of three brothers by acting like a wolf, in Maple Springs, New York. They assume it was werewolf attack because the attack matched the lunar cycle, but soon Dan and Sam realizes that they are dealing with something different. Dean and Sam also find other victim, Ken, who was killed by old grandmother, who kindly offered pie when Ken and his wife were lost in the woods. When Dan and Sam research the case thoroughly, they match the two cases with two Grimm stories: "Three Little Pigs" and "Hansel and Gretel". Throughout the episodes, Sam and Dean are faced with other fairy tale stories, "Cinderella" and "Little Red Riding Hood", so that they could save the possible victim of the stories. Who is behind all the instances? Why did it had to be bedtime stories? To find out Dean and Sam's solution to deal with bedtime stories, watch season three episode three to figure it out for the Halloween night.

Watch the promotion here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUW7QNEt5w

In other episodes of Supernatural, the other well-known creatures and myths that have been written in literature and poetry actually comes true to hunt people with reasons to be solved. Any creatures, that people believed to be only exist within myth or literature, exist in Supernatural.

Poetry of Songs

Run and Fly toward the dream.
Though there may be times of trouble and loneliness,
I will be okay even though I am alone
Because of you, my friends and family.

Sometimes it hurts to face the truth,
But I know that it is the way to grow and mature.

However, I want to keep dreaming

Since it's okay because I still have chance throughout my life.

I will keep my memories,

my love, my music,

my passion, my happiness

Since those describe who I am.

I will be singing in the rain.

I will dancing out. I will do something

that will lead to my happy ending.

I will live simple life and simple love.

Graphic Poetry

Recently in poetry class we made poems by cutting words out of magazines and piecing them together like a ransom note. I've seen somewhere where the author does the opposite. Instead of cutting the words out and pasting them on another page, the author takes on page and blacks out the words that they don't want. The viewer reads the uncrossed words together as the poem. This style of poetry is known as blackout poetry.

This poem, author unknown, is a good example of a blackout poem. The author crossed out the other words to leave the words "I want to go back so I won't grow empty." I find this form of poetry more difficult to create than the ransom note poetry because the author is limited to the words on the page and the order that they are in. Some people chose to use newspaper articles and other choose book pages.

Some poets create their poem and put artwork around it. This poem to the left, author unknown, created a tree-esque design around the words and in the root area, the poem reads "Heart pounding, spiraling into the darkness."  Austin Kleon wrote a book titled Newspaper Blackout in which he shows his various blackout poems. If you go to that website, he has his poems titled "October Horoscopes" displayed. I find this group of poems interesting because in each horoscope he creates poem. This must have been challenging because of the limited words, but he makes it work.

However, some people strongly oppose this type of poetry. Laura, from www.go-home-roger.tumblr.com, finds blackout poetry offensive to the author of the original work. She says "

I wish people would stop doing black out poems. Guess what? A person took the time to put their feelings on paper. To put thoughts, and ideas, and perspectives on a piece of paper so maybe someone else can understand where they’re coming from and feel like they can relate to someone. A person took their thoughts and wrote them down and shared them with the world despite all the vulnerability that comes with and you just stomped all over it. Their work inspires you? That’s fantastic. That’s exactly what they were hoping for. Write it down on a piece of paper instead of destroying something that means everything to someone else. It just like burning a book, or banning it. What gives you the right? The world is one giant canvas and you had to go and use one tiny spot in this giant world that someone else already has. You may be trying to make something beautiful, but you had to destroy something already beautiful to do it and that’s never okay."

I find her perpective very interesting. Who would think that poetry could be controversial in this way? She points out that to create your own work of art, you must destroy someone elses. It would be like someone going into the Sistine Chapel and painting over the ceiling because they were inspired by it. A lot of people would be angry if you did this. Coloring over someone elses work is pretty much the same thing.

While I find blackout poetry beautiful, I never thought about it in this way. I was thinking about making some of my own, but after this, maybe I won't.

Real Stories Impress -- confessional poetry over the sea

Confessional poetry, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, directly reflected the poet's experiences. The poets who wrote in this style frankly poured all their personal stories into their works.Anne Sexton, in her poem For My Lover, Returning To His Wife, tells about her most personal story: adultery. I wanted to introduce a Korean writer who tells that her writings are "personal and confessional."


Wan suh Park, born in 1931 and passed away just a few months ago, mainly wrote about her experiences during the 50s and 60s, the times that confessional poetry was prevailing in the states. I first got to know Park because my mom was one of Park's most passionate fans; Park's books were always on the kitchen counter in my house. Park was definitely one of the most revered writer in her country South Korea. I remember an editorial that said that the only reason she never received Nobel Prize in Literature was that her language is so delicate complex that the translated works of hers can't convey the original emotion.

In 1950, when she was only 19 years old freshman in college, the war broke out. She lost her father when she was only three and she was separated from her mother by the North Korean army during the war. Park soon had to drop out of college when her brother, who went out to the front as militia, died from injury. The bereavement traumatized her, and writing was the only thing that comforted her. "I wonder if I would have started writing if it wasn't the war", Park says in one of her interviews. Later in 1988, Park's husband and only son (she still had four girls), and this loss kept her involved in writing.


In her autobiographical novel Who Ate Up All the Shinga?, Park tells about her childhood and tragic wartime experience. In the preface of this novel she says she doesn't know if she can call this kind of writing a novel - it was more like a diary that she wrote purely depending on her memories. She confesses that she "wanted to testify to the events in her life in a thoughtful and candid way." Park was for sure a confessional poet during contemporary period, just in a different country.

Poetry: Reflection of Society

From Seoul, Korea
Is there a standard age of learning how to write poem?The Poetry, the Korean Film, certainly tells us that anyone can write. Mija Yang, 66 years old, learns how to write poems, expressing her true feelings toward today's society. Throughout her poetry course, Mija learns and realizes not only beauty but also reality of today's society.

See the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo2dfY317-k

In the first part of film, Mija takes poetry class so that she can choose perfect words to express her true feelings. With her little note book, Mija describes everything that she sees: flowers, trees, and other wonders of nature. Though she receives partial grant from the government, she has to earn daily wage by helping elder male with cleaning and cooking to support herself as well as her grandson, Wook. One day, after her poetry class, she discovers that Wook and his group of friends had been constantly raping their peer, who recently committed suicide after writing the full story in her poetry. Mija, who develops Alzheimer Disease, is afraid of losing her memories as well as her grandson's future for what he has done. Through out the film, Mija learns and realizes the reality of th society by looking at the world with poet's view.

The Poetry certainly earned lots of awards not only in Korea but also around the world. The critics highlighted that the movie highlighted and reflected the reality of modern society through 66-years old grandmother.

During the end and ending credit, the poem of girl is read as form of song. The poem is actually created by Chang-Dong Lee, the director, which expressed and showed how the girl felt throughout the story. The poem, called Agnes Song, is translated as:

How is it over there?
How lonely is it?
Is it still glowing red at sunset?
Are the birds still singing on the way to the forest?
Can you receive the letter I dared not send?
Can I convey…
the confession I dared not make?
Will time pass and roses fade?
Now it's time to say goodbye
Like the wind that lingers and then goes,
just like shadows
To promises that never came,
to the love sealed till the end.

To the grass kissing my weary ankles
And to the tiny footsteps following me
It's time to say goodbye
Now as darkness falls
Will a candle be lit again?
Here I pray…
nobody shall cry…
and for you to know…
how deeply I loved you
The long wait in the middle of a hot summer day
An old path resembling my father's face
Even the lonesome wild flower shyly turning away
How deeply I loved
How my heart fluttered at hearing faint song
I bless you
Before crossing the black river
With my soul's last breath
I am beginning to dream…
a bright sunny morning…
again I awake blinded by the light…
and meet you…
standing by me.

Do Guys Care Enough Now? - Gentlemen Don't

It's a clear fact that all songwriters are great poets. They write about what they value in their lives. Bob Dylan, who I think deserves to be named a poet, wrote a song to denounce a criminal and reveal his misdeeds. Through his song "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll", Dylan tries to convey a clear message: It's not right for white male to consider black female inferior. By publishing this song, Bob Dylan make ignorant or indifferent people aware of the issue of the dominance over and violence on the minorities, so there would be no more victims.



Telling messages to the listners still goes with recent songs. Gabe Bondoc is one of these songwriters, or poets, who tell the messages. Gabe is an indie singer, guitarist, songwriter, and a producer whom I first got to know as a YouTube singer. He has been performing since 2003 at various events at colleges and festivals in his home state, California. This guy, a purely Filipino descent, started becoming famous through YouTube, MySpace, Blog TV and the word of mouth. After he had released two EPs titled "Gentlemen" and "Hi, my name is Gabe" and a full album titled the "Summertime LP," he has came to a nationwide fame.



This song that I'm playing over and over again these few weeks- "Gentlemen Don't" by Gabe Bondoc - is, in a way, similar to Bob Dylan's "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll." No, this song is nothing about racial issue or feminism issue. It's a love song about "things gentlemen don't do," Gabe says. To expand on what he says in the video, I say he is telling guys who don't know how to treat relationships about what they should do as gentlemen. Girls are neither victims nor minorities here in this song anymore, but Gabe Bondoc is conveying a message to all guys - to be sensitive and caring - so girls don't get hurt.

You run your fingers across my lips
No I’ve never felt like this before, no, no
I know I’m young but I know love
And I’d know I know an angel if I saw one

But I know very well
Gentlemen don’t kiss and tell
And I promise I won’t tell the world
If you say you want to be my girl
In your words

I’m just a simple man, simple plans,
Good work, take care of my fam,
I’m sure you understand
Because you’re heaven sent, independent,
Do you think you need me?
I think I need you girl, baby can’t you see?

But I know very well
Gentlemen don’t kiss and tell
And I promise I won’t tell the world
If you say you want to be my girl
In your words

Cards on the table
Willing and able
Stable, capable
Of holding you down
I’m just sayin

But I know very well
Gentlemen don’t kiss and tell
And I promise I won’t tell the world
If you say you want to be my girl
In your words
I’m not complaining
Your love is worth waiting for

But I know very well
Gentlemen don’t kiss and tell
And I promise I won’t tell the world
If you say you want to be my girl

Beat Movement: The Intersection between Old and Modern Poetry

From New York, USA 10025

The Beat Movement, also known as Beat Generation, all started from Columbia University, where Kerouac, Ginsberg, Lucien Carr, Hal Chase and others held their first meeting. Beat Generation was led by group of post World War II writers and poets, who experienced with drugs, sexuality, and Buddhism. Also the writers denied ideas of materialism but idealized their beings and beliefs through their books or poems; however, Beat Generation was not interested in politics.

The word "beat" originally came from word “weary,” but later "beat" connoted with a musical sense. The Beat Movement was also influenced strongly by jazz poetry and Harlem Renaissance. Followers of Beat Movements centered in Bohemian artist community in New York City and California. The Beat Poets strongly believed that poem should and could be read by ordinary people, who did not receive full education. So poets shifted their poems from academia to "backstreet" because poets wanted more people to enjoy their poems.

Though there are many reasons that affected Beat Movement, followers of Beat Generation were not fan of uniformity and materialism that took place after the World War II. Due to Highway systems and available priced cars, White men, when they finally returned back to home, and their families moved to suburbs and lived in houses that were similar to one another. People tried to live ideal life: white picket fence, grass, and 2.5 children with beautiful white; however, Beats did not found the standard dull and ridiculous. So Beat came up with terms, such as "square" (loser) or go "cut the grass", to mock the people who decided to choose unrealistic life style.

Beat Generation surely changed the view of poetry and influenced other movements. Since Beats believed that poems came spontaneously as stream of consciousness, they decided to perform their works in front of audience. They also included swearing, drug references, and jazz elements to express what they believed in. The way Beats performed and shared thoughts influenced other movements. The original form of rap music, the popular modern music genre, as well as rock music were greatly affected by ideas, stories, and poets by the Beats. At the end of Beat Generation, Hippies, with similar ideas, influenced people from other generation. Also the ideas that Beat Poets believed are still used throughout the modern poems.

Though people may confuse between Beats and Hippies, Beat Movement is the intersection between Old and Modern Poetry since Beats were one of actual movements to change how people view and interpret ideas that flow around the nations. Beat Generation, even though it officially ended, would remain alive and active within people's mind through its new forms, such as in Rap music, Rock music, or modern poetry.

Emmett Till: He Didnt Deserve to Die

The Savage Killing of Emmett Till

How do you let a girl know she’s fine?

Whistling could be a good idea unless

She’s white and you aren’t. Because then

Her husband and brother-in-law will pick

You up, beat you up, and wring you up.

And next thing you know, you’re at the bottom

Of a river attached to a mill fan and 50 years

Later, US History classes will watch documentaries

About you. But you won’t ever get your justice.

They don’t care if you are smart or funny or

Like math and science. You are lower than them.

They don’t care that in Chicago, white people got

Soft and treat the colored people more nicely. They

Will put you back in your place. You aren’t equal.

And next thing you know, you’re at the bottom

Of a river attached to a mill fan and 50 years

Later, US History classes will watch documentaries

About you. But you won’t ever get your justice.

Emmett, women fainted at the sight on you in your

Coffin. Eyes gouged out and a hole in your head.

Your momma stood proud and fought for you in court.

 But Mississippi didn’t think twice and Roy Bryant and JW

Milam were as free as the samples from the corner deli.

And next thing you know, you’re at the bottom

Of a river attached to a mill fan and 50 years

Later, US History classes will watch documentaries

About you. But you won’t ever get your justice.

Those men actually admitted to your murder after

The trial was over but thanks to Benjamin Franklin and

The rest of the constitution writers, double jeopardy

Prohibits them from being punished. They are dead now

But that girl you whistled at, she ain’t. She faces indictment.

And next thing you know, you’re a famous 14 year old.

Most of America knows your name and has seen your

Documentary. They know what happened wasn’t fair.

Emmett Till, we’re gonna make it right. We promise.

Because you’re American and you were created equal.

In our poetry class we studied political poems. I remember watching endless videos throughout my years in school on a boy named Emmett Till. He was a fourteen year old boy who whistled at a white girl in Mississippi during the days of racial discrimination. He was originally from Chicago, in the North, where blacks and white were more equal and it would have been okay to whistle at a white girl. But in the south, Roy Bryant and JW Milam did not approve of this.

Bryant and Milam, at night, went to Till's relative's house and shook the boy out of the bed he shared with his cousin. They threw him in the back of their car and he was never seen alive again. It was said that Till was taken to their barn, tortured, shot in the head, and thrown into the river. Before he was tossed carelessly into the Tallahatchie River, they attached a 70lb cotton gin fan tied to his neck with barbed wire. It took three days to find his body and removed it from the river.

Emmett's body was returned to his hometown where his mother had an open casket funeral service so everyone could see what happened to her son. The condition of the body was so bad that several ladies actually passed out and had to have medical professionals check them out. Bryant and Milam were taken to court, but it was in the south, so big surprise, they went free. They actually admitted to the killing but due to double jeopardy, they could not be convicted for the same crime twice.

Now, on the 50th anniversary of his death, a new documentary was created so everyone can understand the whole truth. I hope that this documentary lets everyone understand that Emmett Till really was innocent in this situation.

More info here.

Out and Proud: How gay writers expressed their identities

We all know that homosexuals had to fight on until they were able to be treated as normally as they are today. Up until 1950s, gays and lesbians were overtly secluded from the society; in 1950, the reason for the dismissal of the majority of State Department employees was homosexuality. Conservative powers including Senator Joseph R. McCarthy accused the Truman government of not treating the homosexual government members severely enough. The national government's discrimination against homosexuals went on; Eisenhower, in his terms in the office, mandated the dismissal of all federal employees that were homosexual. In the years in 1950s, "Normal" people believed that they could cure lesbians and gays, just like Butter's father who mistakes Butters for gay and sends him to the treatment center in one of the episodes of South Park.

Groups fighting for gay and lesbian rights, such as Daughters of Bilitis and One, started to appear and form magazines that stood up for the voices of homosexuals. GLBT writers started to appear. Langston Hughes wrote a poem that criticizes a police raid on a gay establishment, speaking for the homosexuals. Allen Ginsberg, a gay poet who led Beat generation in the picture above, appeared in every single webpage that I opened to research for this blog. He was definitely the poet who discussed most openly about homosexuality. He was the poet who defined the homoerotic poetry. When the public still had the abstract fear and hatred of homosexuality, Ginsberg proudly wrote and narrated in his visual languages (and all those fruit metaphors!)

The voices of GLBT people forged until AIDS became such a societal issue. The society accused homosexuals of the spread of the disease. The few public figures like celebrities and politicians who came out shocked the public. Throughout the 80s, a very slow but desperate and constant movement for gay rights was in progress.


One writer and a movie star who was as well Out and Proud was Harvey Fierstein. In his most famous work Torch Song Trilogy, a life story of a gay drag queen named Arnold Beckoff, Fierstein develops relationships between characters and situations that seem to resemble his own. In the movie of the same name, Fierstein himself plays Arnold Beckoff, and most openly talks about the troubles and dilemmas of this character, rejected by the society and the family.

Why Beliebers are crazy about Justin Bieber.

Hey all you die hard beliebers, girls (or boys) who proudly wear their Justin Bieber bracelets where ever you go, the ones who always are wearing some little bit of purple whether it be prized possession purple nail polish or lavender mascara. Hey to the closeted Bieber fans, who act like they don't know Justin but actually know all of the lyrics. I even say hi to the haters because no matter if you love Justin or hate him, you are still thinking about him. So Justin has something to tell everyone, "I say thank you to my fans, and thank you to my haters."

The reason I'm even talking about Justin besides the fact that I love him, is I was inspired by Whitman and Hughes, two famous poets, which I learned about in my poetry class. Whitman and Hughes both wrote poems expressing their love and loyalty to a place, Whitman about America in his poem "America" and Hughes about Chicago in his poem "Chicago." I was inspired to write a blog post about why I love Justin Bieber and also to create a site to send people who question your love for him too.


1. Justin Bieber came from the small town of Stratford, a city that is home to about 30,000 people. Justin has tweeted saying that he's given a concert to more people than the number than live in his hometown. I think its really cool that he came from a place that is really off the grid. I'm from a small town too so this really gives me hope that I can make a difference in the world too.

2. Justin earned his fame through YouTube. It would be very hard to find a person nowadays who has not seen a video on this site or heard of it. When Justin Bieber first put his videos online, he actually wasn't doing it to become famous. He uploaded them so his relatives could hear him sing. Then people, like Justin's manager Scooter Braun, happened on them by accident or through word-of-mouth. He wasn't given any special treatment like other celebrities. Anyone could become famous like he did.


3. Before Justin was famous, he was just an average kid His parents aren't together anymore and they were never married to begin with. He was raised by a single, young mother. Pattie Mallete, his mom, gave birth to Justin at the age of 18. Justin is very close to his grandparents too. Their house was his second home. Justin skateboards, plays videogames, and eats Hawaiian pizza. He hangs out with his friends regularly and just likes to have fun. He is more relatable than average celebrities because he knows what it's like to go to public school and to play a game of mini sticks with his friends in his basement.


4. Justin is the king of all pranksters. He likes to joke around and laugh all the time. On the set of CSI, he locked one of his costars in a closet. When ever people come to concerts to sing with him, he always plays some sort of prank on them.


5. Justin Bieber sings songs about the things that every girl wants to hear.


From "Favorite Girl"


"I always knew you were the best
The coolest girl I know
So prettier than all the rest
The star of my show

So many times I wished
You'd be the one for me
But never knew it'd get like this
Girl, what you do to me
You're who I'm thinkin' of
Girl, you ain't my runner up
And no matter what
You're always number one"


I know that I a guy said this about me, I would be head-over-heels for him. His lyrics make me smile and can always make a bad day better.


6. And you know I can't leave out the fact that Justin Bieber is probably the most attractive person on the face of the planet.

His hair, his eyes, the way he smiles, I just love everything about him. He is flawlessly as close to perfect as a person can get.

7. Justin Bieber is a huge inspiration to people all over. His motto is "never say never." I learned to stand up for myself from Justin Bieber. I wear my Justin Bieber bracelet proudly every single day. My math teacher made a bet with me that I would be too embarassed to wear it and since then, I've worn it every single day. It's my good luck charm. It is said that every school around the country has a belieber in it. I guess that I'm my schools crazy Justin Bieber fan. People ask me all the time if I'm joking when I wear my bracelet. But I'm not. I'm not afraid to tell people how crazy I am about Justin Bieber.

Justin's new christmas album, Under the Mistletoe comes out on November 1st but as a special treat, he is releasing Mistletoe, a single, on October 17th. Many people doubt that he will be able to sell many copies of this album because there is still 1 1/2 months until Christmas. But I don't doubt the 40 million beliebers around the world. Justin is going for his first #1 single on iTunes and I know that he will get it.

So whether you call him Justin, JDB, the Biebz, kidrauhl, Derek Bieber, Shawty Mane, or Jason McCann, thank you. Hopefully now you understand why we love him. This is for the kids who can type his name with their eyes closed, who's Most Listened To on their iPods is all Justin, who can recite quote from Never Say Never, and who know what I'm talking about when I blame things on Nolan. This is for the kids who know who Kenny, Scooter, Ryan, Ryan, Chaz, Nolan, Pattie, Jeremy, Jazmyn, Jaxon, Scrappy, Allison, and Carin are, who can't cite their pictures and resources for projects on Justin because everything they write about is common knowledge for them, and who already have the Under The Mistletoe tracklist memorized. (If you don't, see below). Thanks for reading, and I hope you send people here when they ask why you love Justin Bieber.

Justin Bieber: Under the Mistletoe (Track List)

1. Only Thing I Ever Get For Christmas
2. Mistletoe
3. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) feat. Usher
4. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
5. Fa La La feat. Boyz II Men
6. Christmas Love
7. All I Want For Christmas Is You Duet Mariah Carey
8. Drummer Boy feat. Busta Rhymes
9. All I Want Is You
10. Fa La La (acapella) feat. Boyz II Men (Deluxe Edition)
11. Christmas Eve
12. Home This Christmas feat. The Band Perry
13. Silent Night (Deluxe Edition)
14. Pray (Deluxe Edition)
15. Someday At Christmas (Deluxe Edition)

COUNTDOWN TO THE RELEASE OF MISTLETOE:




If you have anything you want to add to this list, hit me up at @emilybrecher on twitter.


Believe in everything, because everything is reachable.
Swagg on. <3
Pictures from: http://bieber-news.tumblr.com/

K-POP: Rising Popularity in Asia, Europe, and America

From. Seoul, Korea 135-897
How do people learn and exchange cultures from other nations? In the days before internet, it took days, months, or centuries for people to have actual chance to interpret new cultures, especially in literature. The works of famous writers and poets had to be translated and transformed in ways that people from different culture could understand what author or poet is saying. But music was different. Though it still took time for people to make contact with other nations' music, people could understand and like the music without any form of labor. As internet developed and made easy for cultures to spread, K-Pop, a.k.a Korean Popular Music, achieved their fame and support all around the world.

What is K-Pop? K- Pop is a musical genre consisting of variety music forms originating in South Korea. In recent years, K-Pop singers traveled around the world to dance, sing and perform in front of various audiences. But K-Pop singers truly earned their fame and popularity through YouTube and internet so that people from other countries in Asia, Europe, and America to learn about them and their songs. Internet is a place where every information, music, and news spreads within seconds all around the globe. Unlike the old days when people had to wait to recieve and read their favorite authors' or poets' newest works, people can share and enjoy singers' music as soon as it is released careless where one may live. Fans of K-Pop singers share or post K-Pop music and videos through Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr to attract people from various nations to listen to K-Pop music. Super Junior, the one of famous Korean boy bands in Korea, consists of 13 original members as well as two other members in unit group called Super Junior-M. Members are Leeteuk(leader), Heechul, Han Geng(currently not part of SJ), Yesung, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Siwon, Ryeowook, Kibum, and Kyuhyun, and they had to be fully trained both vocal and dance before they could debut. From each member's variety experiences in music, dramas, and entertainment shows, Super Junior was able to achieve fame all over the world.

In their recent album, Mr. Simple, Super Junior placed sixth on United World Chart and third on Billboard's World Album Chart. Due to rising support from all over the nations, Super Junior perfroms in South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and other nations. With other singers, including TVXQ, BoA, Girls Generation, Shinee, and f(x), Super Junior performed in L.A and Paris and schedueled to perform in NYC on October 23.

Super Junior, though they have other popular songs, made great hit with Sorry, Sorry. It attracted not only Korean viewers but also people from other nations. Since the dance of hook part in Sorry,Sorry, people, careless of their race, job, gender, or age, mimicked their dance and posted in YouTube, which quickly became popular. (The most famous parody of Sorry, Sorry is done by group of prisoners in Philippines) Whenever Super Junior releases new album, people learn their dance through music video and performances so that they know how to dance to even their newest songs.

Super Junior is supported by E.L.F, a.k.a Ever Lasting Friends, the official fan name for super junior. E.L.F uses pear saphire blue balloon and light to cheer Super Junior when they are performing. The presence of pearl saphire blue balloon and light is to let Super Junior know that they are with them any where they go. Super Junior and E.L.F also communicate by unique introduction and reply. Members also use blog, Twitter, or Cyworld (Korean communicating system) to communicate with E.L.F by telling their stories or sharing photos or videos.

Super Junior is expanding their fan base careless their age and race. Members constantly visit other countries to perform and communicate with the fans, who came over to Korea just to meet them. Their songs list top chart in other nations that Bonamana, one of their hit songs, ranked #1 in Taiwanese music chart for 60 consecutive weeks and #1 was replaced when super junior released new album.

K-Pop is growing music genre that is slowly making its way into other culture. K-Pop artists make people from diverse nations to fall in love with not only music but also drama and show programs. K-Pop artists are expanding their fan base all over the world as well as letting other nations know about Korea and its culture.

Traumatized Souls from the War

Somme, France 80200

Poems about death. Poems about suicide. Poems about war. Phew, I was wondering why all poems in the early twentieth century had to be so gloomy for the past week. Then I found a poem that is even more depressing than any of the poems above – a poem that deals with all of the themes above.

Suicide in the Trenches

I knew a simple soldier boy.....
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.

In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
And no one spoke of him again.

You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you'll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.

This poem by Siegfried Sassoon is a work from early twentieth century as well. Sassoon, a poet born in a wealthy British family, was a carefree writer whose works were all about optimistic view of the natural world. It was only after he went through horrible experiences of World WarⅠthat his writing style changed. Sassoon enlisted on the first day of World WarⅠ and was involved in the battle of the Somme in 1916, where he saw the horrible events in the trenches. He wrote this poem in 1917, right after his experience at the Somme.


This poem combines the themes of Jarrell’s the Death of the Ball Turret Gunner and Parker’s Resume. The boy, who is probably as young as ball turret gunners, can’t stand the trauma of the war and chooses to shoot himself. The people in the poem are ignorant of how cruel and horrible the war is; they don’t know how war rips apart “youth and laughter” of young soldiers.

How to Write a Poem

Limerick:

This poem does not usually get too extreme,
but usually has a vulgar, humorous theme.
Don't spend too much time,
But it really should rhyme.
Have you yet caught on to the scheme?

Acrostic:
Poem writing isn't that hard.
Or atleast it shouldn't be.
Everyone is creative.
This one can about anything, but have you
Realized what makes this one special
Yet? Hint: think back to the beginning.

Still need help? Click here.

Visual Poetry:

Chicago: Glamorous Musical of the Century

From Chicago, 60605

The Chicago, the 5th longest-running show in Broadway, is performed in not only diverse part of United States of America but also foreign nation, such as South Korea, Spain, Germany, and other countries all around the world. The musical has won several awards, including six Tony Awards, two Oliver Awards, and Grammy Awards.





The story takes place in Cook County Jail, Chicago during the roaring twenties, the Prohibition-era. Roxie Hart, the showgirl and chorus girl, murders her secret lover but convinces her husband, Amos, that she had to kill the victim since he was a burglar. But when truth revealed, she had to go into the prison. In the jail, Roxie meets Velma Kelly, the formal Vaudeville, who killed her sister and husband when Velma caught them in an affair. Though they have somewhat resemblance amongst them, Roxie and Velma do not get along in the jail because they both want same lawyer, Bill Flynn. But when more sensational and epic crime occurs, Roxie loses fame and Bill leaves for bigger and more scandalous crime. Also Roxie finally tells Amos the truth, making him to leave her as well. When Roxie lost every chance, she teams with Velma so that they can draw attention from the public to set themselves free.

The Chicago the Musical reflects how Chicago was like during the roaring twenties. Chicago was a city full of crimes and drugs that murder cases easily to own and to lose fame. Ebb and Bob Fosse, the writers of Chicago the Musical, looked into the true murder case that connects back to Roxie and Velma.Velma Kelly resembles Belva Gaertner, the cabaret singer, who killed the man who she had affair with. In other hand, Roxie Hart resembles Beulah Sheriff-Annan because the case was hard to be approved due to Beulah's lies in her alibi and stories though police knew her that she was the killer. Though they have no connection between them in real life, women in Chicago during the 20s committed crimes and murders like Belva Gaertner and Beulah Sheriff-Annan.

The Chicago is not only glamorous musical but reflection of real Chicago during the roaring twenties.