Just One Song?

Most of us if not all of us have downloaded music off the internet. There are plenty of options to do this itunes or free sites such as kazaa. It is a very convenient way to get to the music you enjoy. Even better finding music that you have never heard. This is just one of the many things that social networking has done through the internet by sharing files whatever format they may be. However it tends to make people download only certain songs that appeal to them. On many occasions in the past I would just download one or two songs from an artist. I have stopped this for the most part. Although there are always exceptions. There are sometimes songs in genres or by artists that I don’t normally listen to that appeal to me.
One of my friends said (weather he read it or was his on statement I can’t be sure) that we are taking a small piece of what the musician wants us to hear. To elaborate its somewhat like watching one scene from a movie. If you like that scene the way it was shot, the acting and other elements. There is a decent chance that you would like the rest of the movie. Aside from the fact that the ending my ruin or leave a sour taste in your mouth. Your not just going to be content and press stop or change the channel after seeing the scene. The scene is a piece of the whole body of work. The track which you have picked is a piece of the whole album. The album could be telling a story or experience so why "read one chapter".
One might say that you can’t compare the two. A movie is telling a story and the scene might not make sense without the rest of the movie. While on the other hand a song can stand alone without the entire album. But do songs on albums not follow a similar narrative? You can tell they are from the same musician. They tend to follow the same mood and feel. The instruments usually remain the same. So why cherry pick which songs you want. Give the musician the attention it deserves and purchase, download, or listen to the whole album not just certain songs. Surely if the musician didn’t think they were as good as the other tracks they wouldn’t have put them on the album.
One might also think that if the artist felt that way why would they allow the option to purchase single tracks on sites such as itunes music store. The answer is simple they want people to listen to their music. If you have to buy the whole album to listen to one track this will discourage many buyers from buying. Which means no money.
So lets do them and ourselves a favor and start listening to what was meant to be listened to and that’s the entire piece of work.

This past fall Stephen King’s The Mist directed by Frank Darabont was released. This is the third film adaptation that Darabont has directed with King. The first film was Shawshank Redemption and the second was The Green Mile. Almost all movie goers are familiar with these two films. They were both widely successful at the box office.
The Mist is set in a rural town in present day Maine. The Army has been conducting experiments on a nearby mountain when something goes wrong. Creatures from another dimension spill into our world and descend on the town in a fog like “mist”. The creatures then reek havoc on the small town and its residents. The movie focuses on a group of locals who hole-up in a grocery store once the mist has settled on the town. From there on the creatures seem to kill anything that goes into the mist.
After watching the movie my friends and I discussed what we thought about it. One of my friends said that it sucked and that the special effects weren’t that good. While my other friend said that it was completely unbelievable (You have to remember that it is a sci fi movie and there is some suspension of disbelief that needs to take place while watching it. Obviously my friend failed to see that.) and that it wasn’t scary at all.
I disagreed with their interpretation of the movie. They were only seeing the obvious elements of the movie. They didn’t see the underlying theme. The movie wasn’t just about the creatures killing the people, the special effects and the gore. It was about how people react when they are put in dangerous situations that they don’t understand and fear.
As the movie progresses the citizens grow more and more irrational. Mrs. Carmody a religious zealot begins to preach to the group in the grocery store like a congregation. You can easily tell that there are some screws lose with Mrs. Carmody and that she isn’t your garden variety religious buff. She then persuades the now growing “congregation” into sacrificing one of the Army privates to the creatures. They believe that this will appease the creatures appetites and that this is what God wants. The followers do this without hesitation. The butcher in the grocery store then fatally stabs the boy and locks him outside. He is quickly eaten by a large crablike creature. You can see here that the majority of the seemingly normal group of people before, have been transformed by their fear and uncertainty into monsters themselves. Since Mrs. Carmody claims to have the answer they follow her even to the point of murder. The people don’t know what’s happening. They are completely confused looking for answers to what will save them, what is happening and why its happening. Their fear takes over all rational behavior and thinking. The few people left outside of Mrs. Carmody’s group of followers now have to make a decision between the monsters inside the store or outside.
In the final moments of the movie, David Drayton the main character and his pre teen son, along with Laurie Holden a new nurse in town and an older couple get to their car and drive till they run out of gas. Still in the mist, Drayton convinces himself with the support of Laurie and the older couple to shoot and kill them with the gun Drayton got form the store owner. With the last four bullets, Drayton takes the gun and kills them all starting with his son leaving only him in the car. They had become so petrified by their fear of the creatures that they would rather die now than wait for some kind of help. I wont disclose what happens in the few minutes left in the movie so I don’t ruin the whole thing for you.
For most of the film we watch the group of people and how they change. We see an increasingly hostile group of people trying to cope with what is happening around them and the fear that grips them. We watch as that fear manipulates the peoples actions and judgments. Except for the handful of scenes where people are attacked by the creatures the movie concentrates on these changes.

The Four Way Stop Mentality

I was on my way to class the other day when I pulled up to one of the many four way stops that are on our campus. This particular intersection was located on the corner of Paris Yates Chapel and the tennis courts. As I pulled to a complete stop the truck to my right proceeded through the intersection. The blue prism to its immediate right began to pull out on his turn determined by the time when he pulled up relative to the other cars. As the car began to inch forward for the first couple feet (which signifies that yes it is my turn and I am pulling out this usually discourages impatient drivers form going out of turn) A nice looking Cadillac who had just appeared on the scene without even the tap of a brake light went right on through leaving the blue prism in his dust.
Now this situation is my pet peeve and this was one of the more blatant times I had seen this. The driver of the Cadillac didn’t not only go out of turn but never even entertained the idea of stopping and waiting. I can only imagine what was going through his mind (look there’s an opening they’ll never know what hit them as he then probably convinces himself to yes go for it) or the driver didn‘t have any idea what he was doing. Meanwhile here I am sitting in my car bewildered that the driver had the audacity to think they are above the rules of the four way stop. Which are: A FOUR-WAY STOP sign means that there are four stop signs at this intersection. Traffic from all four directions must stop. The first vehicle to reach the intersection should move forward first. If two vehicles reach the intersection at the same time, the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right.*
So I decided to address this since it seems that it happens nearly ever time you are at a three or four way stop. Some rogue driver is determined to oust you and go through what is supposed to be an rotation with rules. This occurs more frequently on the college campuses. Reasons being there are more opportunities since there are no traffic lights within the campus which of course is regulated by stop signs. And the fact that your dealing with college students whom the first thought is not how much there already paying for insurance let alone anything happen.
Back to the guy in the Cadillac though. What is the reason for a driver disregarding the other drivers and simply going when they feel like it. Were all guilty and even though I hate it I still do it sometimes. The large part is that the driver is in his or her car. There won’t be a confrontation of course unless he hits the person who is “suppose” to be going. So they feel that they are really getting away with it which they are. Or you have the oblivious driver the one who is texting or talking while shuffling their ipod and eating a five course meal and just doesn’t know what order they arrived and thinks there “suppose” to go which is possibly worse. I would rather have someone who has made up their mind that I have to get to class and I think that by cutting all these people off I will save all 15 seconds, so I will make sure that I can go and just do it. Than the I’m not sure who’s turn it is, so I’ll just start going and see if anyone else goes. Which usually ends up with about three failed attempts then you all sit there because you have confused everyone at the stop and finally after about a minute someone goes usually it being the correct person to begin with. Now this approach is different that they “inch forward” that I described earlier. The slow inch which everyone identifies with, secures that your going, if not now usually next and does not look like you’re a race car revving up your engine off the line waiting for the flag to drop.
So what is the root of my pet peeve is it self motivated reasons or simply circumstances. I can’t be sure, all I know is I sure did get a laugh seeing the driver of the prism give their regards to the gentleman in the Cadillac.


* (Pa.) Department of Transportation Driver and Vehicle Services, Pennsylvania Driver’s Manual, English Ed. (Pub. #95, May 2000), 10.
*commentary Lionel E. Deimel The Four Way stop.11/29/01