I don't know what anybody else thought of the halftime show during the Superbowl, but I thought The Who kind of stunk it up.
Roger Daltrey, the lead singer, sounded like he was trying to sing after just getting done running a marathon. He sounded out of breath and I felt like he was yelling the lyrics. It wasn't singing...it was like shouting with style.
Pete Townsend, the lead guitarist and back up vocalist just needs to give the singing up. If he was trying out for American Idol, he probably would have gotten one of these comments from Simon Cowell, "You might possibly be the worst singer I have ever heard." He was out of tune and very flat. His guitar playing wasn't all that impressive either. He still has the arm spin in their, but he should probably make sure he is hitting the right chords when doing it....maybe his sight is bad because he is so old.
Honestly, the best player out of the whole band might have been their drummer who looked like he could have been their grandchild.
I guess I thought they could have picked someone a little more up-to-date for the halftime show. I mean, The Whoo have only came out with one new album in the past 25 years.....and they just aren't WHO they used to be anymore.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Final Draft Editorial #2
The Extinction of Music and Art Education
Abby Richter
What stimulates children’s minds? What teaches them discipline? What is it that gives them a sense of pride and accomplishment? It’s a simple answer—music and art. Not only does music and art help with educational purposes, but it also helps children in their adulthood, career and emotional well being. Why is it then that the state of Nebraska is making their education cuts towards music and art? It’s because music and art are not a part of the governments standardized testing like reading, math and writing are. This resorts to schools in Nebraska being pressured to make their first budget cuts at music and art education.
The government of Nebraska should look at cutting other things in our state budget before we go taking art and music out of children’s lives. Republican Governor Dave Heineman said in his State of the State address that one of his biggest priorities is strengthening our education system. But, by taking away art and music, is our education system really going to be strengthened?
According to ‘Champions of Change, the Impact of the Arts on Learning,’ (the most comprehensive study done of students involvement in the fine arts and how it relates to academic success) students who are not involved in fine arts have more than double the chance of dropping out of high school by the 10th grade. From this research one can conclude that taking away art and music education in not strengthening our education system, but hurting it. As Martin Rayala, art, media and design consultant for the Department of Public Instruction at Wisconsin, said, "There are seven ways to communicate information, and words and numbers are only two of them. The other five are movement, sounds, images, objects, and spaces, all of which are provided through the arts.”
Are we actually going to save money by cutting art and music out of our education systems? Studies show that schools that cut these programs actually end up spending more money because without art and music there is a decrease in morale and attendance and an increase in vandalism and disruptions. Therefore, this ends up in hiring more staff for discipline reasons and paying for vandalism damages.
What the state of Nebraska needs to be doing is looking at what else we can do for budget cuts before resorting to cutting music and art our of our education system. Why don’t we have all employees take a two week unpaid vacation at their convenience to balance our budget? Or maybe we should cut 3% from everybody’s budget. That small amount could add up to a lot.
As the Nebraska Coalition for Music Education states, “Besides the obvious pleasure music adds to our lives, recent research shows participation in music study uniquely enhances abstract reasoning and problem solving skills. Music education aids development of reading and language skills as it promotes higher self-esteem and improves psychomotor skills and athletic ability.”
Without art and music education our society is going to lose its creativeness. Pianist Van Cliburn States, “"Music helps improve discipline and concentration, and it develops a sense of spiritual consciousness." Now try to imagine a world without that.
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
Resources
Eric , Hines. "Art and Music Department Budget Cuts, What it Means for Your Child and
What You Can Do as a Parent." Articlesbase. 22 Apr 2008. Articlesbase, Web. 10 Feb 2010..
Kyle, Michaelis . "Dave Heineman: No Ideas, No Vision, No Problems." New Nebraska
Network. 19 Jan 2010. New Nebraska Network, Web. 10 Feb 2010.
"Nebraska Coalition for Music Education." Nebraska Music Educators Association.
Nebraska Music Educators Association, Web. 10 Feb 2010..
Ryan, Hurley. "Cuts in Arts Programs Leave Sour Note in Schools." Wisconsin Education
Association Council. 2004. WEAC, Web. 10 Feb 2010..
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Claims
Policy Claim- The government of Nebraska should look at cutting other things in our state budget before we go taking art and music out of children’s lives.
Factual Claims- -Republican Governor Dave Heineman said in his State of the State
address that one of his biggest priorities is strengthening our education system.
-According to ‘Champions of Change, the Impact of the Arts on Learning,’ (the most comprehensive study done of students involvement in the fine arts and how it relates to academic success) students who are not involved in fine arts have more than double the chance of dropping out of high school by the 10th grade.
- As the Nebraska Coalition for Music Education states, “Besides the obvious pleasure music adds to our lives, recent research shows participation in music study uniquely enhances abstract reasoning and problem solving skills. Music education aids development of reading and language skills as it promotes higher self-esteem and improves psychomotor skills and athletic ability.”
3. Value Claim- From this research one can conclude that taking away art and music education in not strengthening our education system, but hurting it.
4. Definitional Claim- "There are seven ways to communicate information, and words and numbers are only two of them. The other five are movement, sounds, images, objects, and spaces, all of which are provided through the arts.”
5. Casual Claims- -Therefore, this ends up in hiring more staff for discipline reasons and
paying for vandalism damages.
- Without art and music education our society is going to lose its creativeness.
Abby Richter
What stimulates children’s minds? What teaches them discipline? What is it that gives them a sense of pride and accomplishment? It’s a simple answer—music and art. Not only does music and art help with educational purposes, but it also helps children in their adulthood, career and emotional well being. Why is it then that the state of Nebraska is making their education cuts towards music and art? It’s because music and art are not a part of the governments standardized testing like reading, math and writing are. This resorts to schools in Nebraska being pressured to make their first budget cuts at music and art education.
The government of Nebraska should look at cutting other things in our state budget before we go taking art and music out of children’s lives. Republican Governor Dave Heineman said in his State of the State address that one of his biggest priorities is strengthening our education system. But, by taking away art and music, is our education system really going to be strengthened?
According to ‘Champions of Change, the Impact of the Arts on Learning,’ (the most comprehensive study done of students involvement in the fine arts and how it relates to academic success) students who are not involved in fine arts have more than double the chance of dropping out of high school by the 10th grade. From this research one can conclude that taking away art and music education in not strengthening our education system, but hurting it. As Martin Rayala, art, media and design consultant for the Department of Public Instruction at Wisconsin, said, "There are seven ways to communicate information, and words and numbers are only two of them. The other five are movement, sounds, images, objects, and spaces, all of which are provided through the arts.”
Are we actually going to save money by cutting art and music out of our education systems? Studies show that schools that cut these programs actually end up spending more money because without art and music there is a decrease in morale and attendance and an increase in vandalism and disruptions. Therefore, this ends up in hiring more staff for discipline reasons and paying for vandalism damages.
What the state of Nebraska needs to be doing is looking at what else we can do for budget cuts before resorting to cutting music and art our of our education system. Why don’t we have all employees take a two week unpaid vacation at their convenience to balance our budget? Or maybe we should cut 3% from everybody’s budget. That small amount could add up to a lot.
As the Nebraska Coalition for Music Education states, “Besides the obvious pleasure music adds to our lives, recent research shows participation in music study uniquely enhances abstract reasoning and problem solving skills. Music education aids development of reading and language skills as it promotes higher self-esteem and improves psychomotor skills and athletic ability.”
Without art and music education our society is going to lose its creativeness. Pianist Van Cliburn States, “"Music helps improve discipline and concentration, and it develops a sense of spiritual consciousness." Now try to imagine a world without that.
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
Resources
Eric , Hines. "Art and Music Department Budget Cuts, What it Means for Your Child and
What You Can Do as a Parent." Articlesbase. 22 Apr 2008. Articlesbase, Web. 10 Feb 2010.
Kyle, Michaelis . "Dave Heineman: No Ideas, No Vision, No Problems." New Nebraska
Network. 19 Jan 2010. New Nebraska Network, Web. 10 Feb 2010.
"Nebraska Coalition for Music Education." Nebraska Music Educators Association.
Nebraska Music Educators Association, Web. 10 Feb 2010.
Ryan, Hurley. "Cuts in Arts Programs Leave Sour Note in Schools." Wisconsin Education
Association Council. 2004. WEAC, Web. 10 Feb 2010.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Claims
Policy Claim- The government of Nebraska should look at cutting other things in our state budget before we go taking art and music out of children’s lives.
Factual Claims- -Republican Governor Dave Heineman said in his State of the State
address that one of his biggest priorities is strengthening our education system.
-According to ‘Champions of Change, the Impact of the Arts on Learning,’ (the most comprehensive study done of students involvement in the fine arts and how it relates to academic success) students who are not involved in fine arts have more than double the chance of dropping out of high school by the 10th grade.
- As the Nebraska Coalition for Music Education states, “Besides the obvious pleasure music adds to our lives, recent research shows participation in music study uniquely enhances abstract reasoning and problem solving skills. Music education aids development of reading and language skills as it promotes higher self-esteem and improves psychomotor skills and athletic ability.”
3. Value Claim- From this research one can conclude that taking away art and music education in not strengthening our education system, but hurting it.
4. Definitional Claim- "There are seven ways to communicate information, and words and numbers are only two of them. The other five are movement, sounds, images, objects, and spaces, all of which are provided through the arts.”
5. Casual Claims- -Therefore, this ends up in hiring more staff for discipline reasons and
paying for vandalism damages.
- Without art and music education our society is going to lose its creativeness.
What can be cut from our state budget besides music and art education?!
Music and art are what stimulate a child's mind. It teaches them discipline as well as gives them a sense of pride and accomplishment. It also helps them in their career building in their adult life.
So why the heck are we taking art and music education out of our education system in the state of Nebraska. Well, we all know that we are facing some budget cutting issues, but their real reason for it is that music and art are not a part of government standardized testing. You would think they would be a part of that considering they contribute to five of the seven ways we communicate.
Republican Governor Dave Heineman say that strengthening our education system is on of his biggest priorities. But seriously....lets think about this....are we really strengthening our system by cutting music and art education out of our children's lives? I don't believe so. Lets take a look at some facts...
Students who are not involved in fine arts have more than double the chance of dropping out of high school by the 10th grade. I don't really see how that is helping the system. As Martin Rayala, art, media and design consultant for the Department of Public Instruction at Wisconsin, said, "There are seven ways to communicate information, and words and numbers are only two of them. The other five are movement, sounds, images, objects, and spaces, all of which are provided through the arts.”
And schools can forget about saving money by cutting art and music because studies have shown that taking away music and art actually increases vandalism and disruptive behavior which therefore leads to spending money on discipline teachers and vandalism damages.
We need to look at the alternatives...
Maybe we should have all employees take a two week unpaid vacation at their convenience to balance our budget. Or maybe we should cut 3% from everybody’s budget. That small amount could add up to a lot.
That's just a thought...but it sure makes more sense to me to take action on one of those options rather than taking the one thing away from children that lets their mind be creative.
So why the heck are we taking art and music education out of our education system in the state of Nebraska. Well, we all know that we are facing some budget cutting issues, but their real reason for it is that music and art are not a part of government standardized testing. You would think they would be a part of that considering they contribute to five of the seven ways we communicate.
Republican Governor Dave Heineman say that strengthening our education system is on of his biggest priorities. But seriously....lets think about this....are we really strengthening our system by cutting music and art education out of our children's lives? I don't believe so. Lets take a look at some facts...
Students who are not involved in fine arts have more than double the chance of dropping out of high school by the 10th grade. I don't really see how that is helping the system. As Martin Rayala, art, media and design consultant for the Department of Public Instruction at Wisconsin, said, "There are seven ways to communicate information, and words and numbers are only two of them. The other five are movement, sounds, images, objects, and spaces, all of which are provided through the arts.”
And schools can forget about saving money by cutting art and music because studies have shown that taking away music and art actually increases vandalism and disruptive behavior which therefore leads to spending money on discipline teachers and vandalism damages.
We need to look at the alternatives...
Maybe we should have all employees take a two week unpaid vacation at their convenience to balance our budget. Or maybe we should cut 3% from everybody’s budget. That small amount could add up to a lot.
That's just a thought...but it sure makes more sense to me to take action on one of those options rather than taking the one thing away from children that lets their mind be creative.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Simon Cowell is leaving American Idol to possibly be replaced with Howard Stern
Most of us are familiar with the foul mouthed Howard Stern from his program on satellite radio...and the rumor is that he will be taking Simon Cowells spot on American Idol. Ha...this could be interesting....
If you think about it, Stern would probably be a good replacement for the Cowell considering he could probably be just as straight forward and rude as Cowell. He even think so himself by this comment, "If I do say so myself, I can't imagine anyone else but me replacing [Cowell]," Stern said. "I mean, how else are they going to make that show work? Who knows how to broadcast and who knows how to be interesting? And who's not afraid to speak their mind?"
Stern actually makes jokes about American Idol on his satellite radio program a lot, but he states, "A $100 million to judge a karaoke contest? Yeah, I think I would do that show for $100 million. It would be the best thing that happened to me. What a cush job: $100 million for four months. Who wouldn't take that?"
They have to match his already well off salary thought for him to even consider it. "They'd have to pay me a ton of dough, because I already make a ton of dough," he said. His contract right now with satellite radio is $500 million for five years, which is a reasonable amount of doe!
I don't what will be better though....I might miss Cowell and his comments such as, "You might possibly be the worst singer I've ever heard," up againsts Sterns that would consist of 'Hey Fantasia, you're not getting little boys hard. You look like you stepped out of a cartoon. ... They want a Britney Spears or a Rihanna. Little boys are scared that you are going to sit on them. You're out. ... You've got to go clean up your act. Get a haircut like Rihanna if you want little boys [to get excited about] you," (which was actually stated by Stern).
Could make for an interesting change if you ask me! Check out this article for more in depth information on this! http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1631483/20100208/story.jhtml
If you think about it, Stern would probably be a good replacement for the Cowell considering he could probably be just as straight forward and rude as Cowell. He even think so himself by this comment, "If I do say so myself, I can't imagine anyone else but me replacing [Cowell]," Stern said. "I mean, how else are they going to make that show work? Who knows how to broadcast and who knows how to be interesting? And who's not afraid to speak their mind?"
Stern actually makes jokes about American Idol on his satellite radio program a lot, but he states, "A $100 million to judge a karaoke contest? Yeah, I think I would do that show for $100 million. It would be the best thing that happened to me. What a cush job: $100 million for four months. Who wouldn't take that?"
They have to match his already well off salary thought for him to even consider it. "They'd have to pay me a ton of dough, because I already make a ton of dough," he said. His contract right now with satellite radio is $500 million for five years, which is a reasonable amount of doe!
I don't what will be better though....I might miss Cowell and his comments such as, "You might possibly be the worst singer I've ever heard," up againsts Sterns that would consist of 'Hey Fantasia, you're not getting little boys hard. You look like you stepped out of a cartoon. ... They want a Britney Spears or a Rihanna. Little boys are scared that you are going to sit on them. You're out. ... You've got to go clean up your act. Get a haircut like Rihanna if you want little boys [to get excited about] you," (which was actually stated by Stern).
Could make for an interesting change if you ask me! Check out this article for more in depth information on this! http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1631483/20100208/story.jhtml
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Why isn't this girl famous?!
I follow this girl on YouTube and I happened to come across this video of her and a friend doing an acoustic cover of "Just Dance," by Lady Gaga. I happen to believe that it is just amazing!
It takes a lot of talent to take a song like this and turn it into an acoustic version. I wish people like this would get recognized in the Music industry. I seems like to get anywhere in the music industry anymore, you either have to have money or a famous name.
Take Ashlee Simpson for instance. If it hadn't been for her sister, she would have never been famous for the fact the she was caught lip-syncing on SNL and was booed off the stage. It just amazes me how having a famous name or lots of money can get you in the music industry so much easier.
If I were a record producer or record company, I would be sitting at my computer all day listening to all the young talent out there on YouTube. I bet they would be amazed at what they would find. I'm sure some record companies have been doing this, but I believe it needs to happen more! Check out this video :) It's great....
It takes a lot of talent to take a song like this and turn it into an acoustic version. I wish people like this would get recognized in the Music industry. I seems like to get anywhere in the music industry anymore, you either have to have money or a famous name.
Take Ashlee Simpson for instance. If it hadn't been for her sister, she would have never been famous for the fact the she was caught lip-syncing on SNL and was booed off the stage. It just amazes me how having a famous name or lots of money can get you in the music industry so much easier.
If I were a record producer or record company, I would be sitting at my computer all day listening to all the young talent out there on YouTube. I bet they would be amazed at what they would find. I'm sure some record companies have been doing this, but I believe it needs to happen more! Check out this video :) It's great....
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Education Budget Cuts in Nebraska--Music and Arts
What makes our world so creative? Art and music. Not only do these subjects make our society a creative place, but they are also beneficial to students in school. According to a study done by the "Champions of Change," 82.6% of 8th graders earned mostly As and Bs who were involved heavily in fine arts versus 67.2% earning As and Bs who were not. Another finding was that 30.07% of the respondents who participate in fine arts perform in community service where only 6.28% of the respondents who do not participate in fine arts perform community service.
The fine arts don't just teach children how to play an instrument or draw a picture but they "help stimulate the creative part of the child's mind, teach discipline, instill a sense of pride, accomplishment, and self-worth."
So why is Nebraska making the budget cuts in this area? It's because they aren't government tested like reading, math and writing. According to Martin Rayala, art, media and design consultant for the Department of Public Instruction, "studies show that schools that cut arts programs end up within the next three years spending more money on education, and their test scores in other areas actually go down."
This has been a problem in our state of Nebraska. The NCME (Nebraska Coalition for Music Education) has been trying to get a hold on this problem. There motto is "We believe that music programs should be part of the academic core of essential skills and available to all students, not just those who are gifted or privileged. And that music study promotes cultural awareness, enhances the quality of our lives, and is essential to the survival of any civilization. Besides the obvious pleasure music adds to our lives, recent research shows participation in music study uniquely enhances abstract reasoning and problem solving skills. Music education aids development of reading and language skills as it promotes higher self-esteem and improves psychomotor skills and athletic ability."
If our state doesn't get a hand on this issue, music and art education will be eliminated from our school systems, and with music and art only available to the priviledged our society will become impoverished. If you want to check out the NCEM website feel free too! http://www.unl.edu/NMEA/ncme.html#imaginelife
The fine arts don't just teach children how to play an instrument or draw a picture but they "help stimulate the creative part of the child's mind, teach discipline, instill a sense of pride, accomplishment, and self-worth."
So why is Nebraska making the budget cuts in this area? It's because they aren't government tested like reading, math and writing. According to Martin Rayala, art, media and design consultant for the Department of Public Instruction, "studies show that schools that cut arts programs end up within the next three years spending more money on education, and their test scores in other areas actually go down."
This has been a problem in our state of Nebraska. The NCME (Nebraska Coalition for Music Education) has been trying to get a hold on this problem. There motto is "We believe that music programs should be part of the academic core of essential skills and available to all students, not just those who are gifted or privileged. And that music study promotes cultural awareness, enhances the quality of our lives, and is essential to the survival of any civilization. Besides the obvious pleasure music adds to our lives, recent research shows participation in music study uniquely enhances abstract reasoning and problem solving skills. Music education aids development of reading and language skills as it promotes higher self-esteem and improves psychomotor skills and athletic ability."
If our state doesn't get a hand on this issue, music and art education will be eliminated from our school systems, and with music and art only available to the priviledged our society will become impoverished. If you want to check out the NCEM website feel free too! http://www.unl.edu/NMEA/ncme.html#imaginelife
Monday, February 1, 2010
Grammy's are becoming more of a show than awards ceremony
I don't know about anybody else, but I get pretty excited every year to watch the Grammy's--and i don't get excited to see the awards...I just want to see all the performances! But is this such a good thing? I mean, it is a night dedicated to awarding our creative and outstanding artists, so should the main focus be on the performances? I guess that is up to the person who is watching it.
Take this for example--Beyonce took home 6 Grammy's, which is more than any other woman has received in one given night. Her song "Single Ladies" won song of the year, but she had to have her collaborators go on stage to except it because she was busy getting ready for her performance. I don't know about her, but If I were to win dong of the year I sure as heck would want to be on stage to except it! Also, four of her other awards were given to her before the event was actually televised...so to many, Beyonce was just another face in the crowd that night, but in reality she made history.
Don't get me wrong, the performances this year were absolutley a hit as they do a wonderful job of pairing up our new artists with the verterans of music such as Lady Gaga and Elton John, but jeez...isn't Beyonce making history in the past 52 years a big deal? I guess I think so, but some may beg to differ.
Take this for example--Beyonce took home 6 Grammy's, which is more than any other woman has received in one given night. Her song "Single Ladies" won song of the year, but she had to have her collaborators go on stage to except it because she was busy getting ready for her performance. I don't know about her, but If I were to win dong of the year I sure as heck would want to be on stage to except it! Also, four of her other awards were given to her before the event was actually televised...so to many, Beyonce was just another face in the crowd that night, but in reality she made history.
Don't get me wrong, the performances this year were absolutley a hit as they do a wonderful job of pairing up our new artists with the verterans of music such as Lady Gaga and Elton John, but jeez...isn't Beyonce making history in the past 52 years a big deal? I guess I think so, but some may beg to differ.
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