entry 11: Final Blog Reflection

Over the last few weeks I have been posting on this blog for a number of topics that were assigned by my instructor, as well as things I could talk about that relate to me personally. I believe this is one of the coolest assignments a student could ask for because you get to be personal yet professional which makes the writing environment more comfortable than any other I have experienced. I enjoyed this assignment very much because I felt like I was reaching out to the world with my posts which made me really think about what I wanted to write. I found it troubling to come up with an idea for a self-generated topics but once I knew what I wanted to talk about it was all forward progression from there. All in all, Blogging proved to be exiting yet soothing. It was exiting to get my ideas out into the internet as well as expanding my audience to anyone with internet potentially. I found it soothing because I felt no tension when writing. Usually I feel as though my instructor is going to not like something I say or like something I say that I would not have written if I was writing for myself. This project, as well as the class, really gave me that opportunity to write for the purpose of writing and not to get a good grade.

I personally took every post very seriously only because I did not want a future employer to bring up a post that I wasn't trying to be professional with. I also felt like anyone reading my blog would only continue reading if it was serious and interesting which is something I wanted even though I know bot to many people would be checking out this page. I knew not too many people would be looking at my blog, but I still wanted it to sound like a real author wrote it and not a college student.

There was not too much I learned about blogging other than to be professional and real because nobody is going to keep reading if the topics are not interesting and the rhetoric isn't there. I focused a lot of my attention on rhetoric and keeping my topics very in tune with the reader. I learned that signing off and having visual appeal is all another part of keeping the reader engaged in the blog. I also learned the being personal can make the writing easily connectable to others. In the beginning I thought the opposite in that the more personal with the writing you are the less the reader will understand. Really there are people out there who can relate to me personally on any topic I chose to write about.

For the class, I think that it was a very good for getting real world writing experience as well as getting up close and personal with the words being put out. I believe blogging should be an assignment for all students starting from high school just as an easy way to express yourself without having to think about the grading block. There has never been a more comfortable writing environment than the one provided by the blogging experience. If I could change anything about it would have to be the amount of blog posts due at each grading period. I really had to manage time well in order to complete the blogs on time and when it did come down to the wire I noticed my blogs weren't as insightful or meaningful to me or the person reading it. The idea of having a self-generated blog after every topic based blog was nice, yet there could have been a little bit less of the self-generated blogs to maybe cut back on some of the frantic last minute posts.

I think everyone should have some form of personal writing time to get out thoughts and think critically about thoughts running through one’s head. It is healthy to write and the best way to write is when you are comfortable. Try it yourself and see how it makes you feel when you connect with someone in another city or country and can relate to a person you have never met on so many levels. I plan to keep writing in my blog even though the course is over I think it is a healthy way to get out ideas and thoughts that drive the regular person insane. I would say students in particular but I believe everyone should try to have this connection. Try it and let me know what it does for you and if it proves to be as easy for you as it was for me.

Entry 10: Super Smash Bros. Melee

Today I am going to shed light on one of my other passions in life and that is the video game, Super Smash Bros. Melee. This game has become a big part of my life in the past two years for many reasons. I enjoy it for its depth and unlimited potential as a fighting game, and because it also includes all of my favorite Nintendo characters from my youth.

One of my friends, Tyler and I one day stumbled across my old GameCube and decided to pop in my copy of Super Smash Bros. Melee that I had thrown in a box. We instantly fell in love with the feel of the game, and we played for hours and hours that first day. That is what caught our attention, but what snagged it was when another friend of mine, Shawn came over to play with us and he demolished us, smashed us. He was using techniques and moves we had never even thought of. He would hit us once and we would die, it was that simple. But what is more sophisticated is what he was actually doing, he was slurring together button presses and we couldn't keep up. This is when Tyler and I figured out just how deep and intricate this game really was. From that day on Tyler and I have worked to get to the next level, and we did this by countless hours of practice and watching videos of pro players to try and figure out what exactly they do.

One of the players that truly inspired us was, Mango. Considered to be by many the best Super Smash Bros. Melee player of all time, he was fast, he was in your face, and he was cocky about it. His amazingly technical and fast gameplay really opened our eyes and helped us see the potential that this game really has. In particular, Mango was in the last match of a championship game against the most worthy competitor and he styled on him and made him look like Tyler and I against Shawn.

As time passed we became better and better as we pushed each other to that next level, and it wasn’t until our first competitive tournament that we realized that we were better than the average player. We were improving, fast. Then one day Shawn came over to play with us, and we didn’t win but we didn’t get smashed. We put fear into him, and made him realize that if he wanted to still beat us, he is going to need to practice, just like us.  

Entry 9: Pink Slime

Americans should really consider if the convenience and low price is worth the dangerous side effects that the meat could have on your children. One controversial topic, is schools including a mix that contains … Schools meat contains "30 percent all beef and 70 percent" of the controversial mixture. This is alarming to me because it is unsure what is even in the beef mixture at this point. So why would we even consider feeding it to the youth.

It has been found that fast food restaurant, McDonalds has been using a "pink slime" substitute in there meat.This substitute contains Ammonia Hydroxide and as described in the video as the leftover cuts from the animal. As alarming as it sounds, thanks to the efforts of celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver who managed to rally enough attention on the subject of Ammonia Hydroxide. This caused McDonalds to remove the chemical from their meat. People are considering putting this pink goop into the meat of our children's lunch.

  I believe we should be taking as much care of the children and the average American. I think Fast-food chains should have a Sin Tax on beef that has any chemicals or percentages of beef to make it more expensive than other healthier options like a homemade sandwich. In order for change to occur, we the people have to make a difference in the choices we make when considering what to eat

Entry 8: Organic Foods

Have you ever wondered where the meat in your local grocery stores comes from? Ever thought about how they make your burgers at fast food joint? How about when it comes out so fast and you know it's not fresh. Do we even care that our burgers are sitting under heat lamps until we pull up, or that we have tomatoes in season all year? Parents should be looking out for what their children are eating and if we don't know where it's coming from how will we ever know if it is safe to eat.

Today if you go to the supermarket you will see signs for organic sprinkled throughout the store on various products. Most of the time it will cost more and probably not be the same color you are used to, but what is important is where it came from. That is why I will always reach for the organic option on the shelves. Whether it be applesauce or beef I believe the organic choice is the better one when you consider all the chemicals and additives that are finding themselves very comfortable in industrialized food

I understand the people who are living on low wages and have a whole family to support. I have been there myself where my mom didn't have enough to pay bills let alone buy food for us to eat. When we discovered better ways of eating though we always made the effort to do so even if it meant we were only getting veggies. If that meant sacrificing chips and soda then so be it. We were looking to have a better, healthier life and the best way to do that is to watch what you eat. So it is possible to eat like this it just might not be as salty or as full of sugar but it is what your body needs in order to function properly.

The change has to start at home. If everyone had a garden like in WWII, fresh untouched, and chemical free veggies would be just outside the back door. What really needs to change in our supermarkets is the need for local food that supports the small businesses around us. Because the more you support that farmer, the easier it will be for him to drop prices. As well as, expand to make the product more accessible. Shelves in the supermarket should be cluttered with organic and natural whole foods. The days of cheap processing and preservatives are over. We need to shift the light in a positive direction and I think that direction is organic. 

Entry 7: Fresh

After watching the film Fresh by Ana Sophia Joanes I felt about what I really wanted to be putting into my body. I never wanted to start a garden more in my life. This weekend I actually started a garden that my mother and I will be taking care of this time of year. It’s nothing to live off of because you need meat and grain but it makes for amazing vegetables like kale, tomatoes, onions, and carrots. This video connected with me because I enjoy planting and gardening but it is another activity my mom and I can do where we both get something out of it.

Her tone was a little sad and depressing but she gets more joyous towards the end when talking about the way people are starting to transition into a new way of getting food. That could be feeding cattle, or starting up a garden. Just keeping the food you eat natural and organic is so much better for you than eating out at a local fast food. It is especially important to have parents feeding their growing kids healthy food and not crap that has been processed and handled but ten different people; pulled through the grime and cooked on a nasty grill that hasn't been cleaned for god knows how long.

This documentary has made me realize that it is possible to eat healthy and still have good food. Also, it is worth spending the extra money because you are getting what you pay for. If you have a garden going you can save on what you grow. Local farmers markets are the best place to find good healthy food.

My personal opinion of the film is it has many alternatives to bad eating habits. These come in handy when you go into the supermarket and see the perfectly white symmetrical eggs, with a shiny glisten from the bleach used to make it white. These come in handy when you go into the supermarket and see the perfectly white symmetrical eggs, with a shiny glisten from the bleach used to make it white. I think the film did a good job of showing the reality of the current food industry. After watching it I had a change of heart in what I wanted to be putting into my body. 

People should share this information and this message should be all over the news. It matters that Americans see this and understand how wrong they are treating themselves. Farmers markets should be on every corner instead of a couple every few miles. It only takes a couple of stores to turn a community around and start eating healthy.  

Entry 6: Matched or traditional grip?

All throughout junior high I was so happy to get into high school to get onto drum line and do super cool rolls and tricks that would make people go nuts! During my time in junior high I played on this old snare that was in horrible shape and I would bang on that with all my might, trying to make things sound decent for when I transitioned to high school drum line. Unfortunately for me all I knew how to do was push sticks hard into the snare to make it almost buzz.

 When I took my first lessons the summer of my eighth grade year, I was introduced to a new way of playing. Because I knew what I wanted to play in high school, my drum teacher Brett was totally on board and exited to get me working on my hand technique. What I didn't know was that it was going to take a lot more time then I was anticipating.

What I ended up learning the first day was a new way to hold the drum sticks that was going to be the requirement for kids on snare line. I knew if I wanted to make it I would have to be very effective at this new grip so I took hours of my day in the beginning just working on rudiments and cadences with my new grip style. I eventually became more comfortable playing like this then I was with what is called matched grip.

I had come up with some conclusions as to why one might use one or the other and I had heard some reasons why you might use traditional. For instance I heard back in the day when they had tilted drums it was easier to play traditional. Not until recently did I actually do some research to find out what would be best for me now that I am out of drum line and mostly play set.

I found…

Traditional Grip: it is easier to produce a double or multiple bounce with the left in this grip, because the weight of the hand is mostly under the stick and this allows the response to happen easily. This is only true for a right handed person. Also, it is easier to cross over when playing multiple drums or cymbals, because one hand holds from underneath the stick while the other is over the top and this means there is less interference as the hands cross over each other. Furthermore, it must be remembered that when the drum set came about the traditional grip was it and the drum set is set up for it. That is why some drummers now play the Hi Hat with the left hand (matched grip), so they can avoid crossing the sticks and get more power on the snare. This is a non-issue with traditional grip. Another advantage of traditional grip is that it allows you to tilt your snare drum toward the mounted toms and shortens the distance allowing for quicker changes.

The downside of traditional grip is that is takes longer to develop so that both hands have equal strength and endurance. With traditional grip, your left hand has less reach so if you have an extensive set up it can prove prohibitive

Matched grip: It is easier to develop strength, power and endurance and is easier to facilitate reaching around a large set up. The downside is that, because of the many more muscles involved is takes longer to learn left hand subtlety on graces notes and multiple bounce patterns. It is also harder to cross over in playing multiple surfaces.

After this I came to the conclusion that I was just going to play whatever felt more comfortable at the time since I can do both quite effectively now. If you are looking for advice and you are going into high school I would get really good at traditional. If you are looking to strictly play on the drum set I would just work on the matched to get your fills going faster and stronger without worrying about hand technique so much.

Entry 5: Wall E Realization of Reality

After watching a video such as this, which was just a small clip from a great movie, one begins to think about where our society is going with all of the easy-to-do technology. The video portrays a future culture of big, immobile, and ignorant people who only do as the screens in front of them tell them to do. This makes me personally want to get up off the computer and go run a lap around the block because I feel lazy watching it.

The part from the video that really hit home for me was when the two men were talking on a video call to one another and then it pans out and the guy he is talking to in the call is sliding along right next him. They can’t even turn to one another for communication or interactive purposes that make us human. When basic communication is limited to the people we are friends online with and not those who we interact with in real life, there is little to no reason to get out of bed in the morning.

This technological world we live in is nice and convenient for the most part but this video is showing what it could be like if we continue down this path of destruction. Today we still have live interaction with seen at work or at school, yet we do have ways of communicating technologically in today's society try to stay active and slim. This is relevant to today culture because there are games and social media that keep people from seeing the light of day for weeks at a time.

Something you see in the video that is similar to what you see today is the fashion trends that everyone follows once it is announced or seen. Everyone switches to the blue jumpsuit with the touch of a button and without considering their own opinion. Something else that is similar is how everyone follows the same path every day without looking up to see what’s happening around. The woman in the video was amazed to see the lights and buildings behind the hologram screen. You might see people droning on at work or driving to school as a part of the regular week routine. People get stuck in their ruts and don't look for different ways of doing things that make the "routine" very boring and tiresome. this in turn makes for a very bland, crabby, and loveless individual.

So when you are droning on in the cyber web, going to work, or at school try to mix things up ride a bike to school or work or get off that computer you have logged countless hours on and take a walk around the block and enjoy the fresh air and the nature all around us. Even in the city there is life outside or the rut. YOU just have to climb out.

Entry 4: Xymox Reserve Snare Pads

Are you more of an advanced drummer? Do you prefer playing traditional or drum line type material? Do you prefer getting quality hardware over cheap hardware? If you are thinking yes to any of these questions I think you should keep on keep ‘in on with your reading of this blog! Today I will be discussing the Xymox Reserve Snare Pads from Xymox Percussion.

When I first saw this practice pad was when I was teaching one day, it was as if the room was a whole new color. When I turned to look it was solid glossy, fiber-glass material in the center where you strike it which I thought was odd at first. The rim and the body of this particular Xymox pad where a nicely matching neon yellow and white with black bolts, which was something I had never seen before. I questioned the student who owned it and he told me about it and I was astonished to hear it was custom pad that he had chosen all the colors for including the sponge on the bottom. It looked similar to the one below but with the Kevlar head.

After teaching that day I went home and did some research on this amazing practice pad and was blown away at the color options for each particular part on the pad. The options to make it a Kevlar or carbon fiber head, the night sky finish on the base, or the option to make the rim mango colored are all so new to the whole experience of buying a snare pad. There are also snare beads that you can get with your pad to make it sound even more like an actual snare pad and this is what made me fall in love. It seems anything you want they can make some variation of that will shock people when they see. The possibilities for creativity just expanded through the player and to the actual snare pad.

There is a cheaper version licensed by Xymox but it is made by Ahead. It has some of the same features included it is just obviously a cheaper product because the metal rim and the single option of white and black. They look very similar but the Ahead version has a rim that absolutely destroys sticks and the snare beads are not as loud throughout the entire surface of the pad according to multiple YouTube review channels. 

Other YouTube channels showcase the Xymox snare pads exclusively while showing off their chops. 

Videos like this make me want to stop all my school work, forget about every assignment, and practice. Kids that can shred like this make me so jealous with the amazing Xymox drum pads and insane amounts of stick tricks that never cease to amaze. Not only is the player in the video a great drummer (Garret Kimmel), but the snare pad itself shines so bright in this video because of the amazing combination of hardware. One can find a bunch of videos like this if you search Xymox Reserve snare pad. If you are a tenor player they have something fro you too so check it out.
These new practice pads are fresh and sound great to play on. If you are looking to spend a little money, now would be a great time to check these bad boys out. 

Entry 3: The Technology I Use

Most think of technology as the smartphone or computer you are reading this blog on, or the GPS that gets you to point B, or the microwave that cooks frozen turkey breast in 5 minutes. The technological spectrum goes way beyond these few items. For instance, as a drum-kit player the new electric drum set technology is so amazing compared to some of the cheaper models. This Roland TD-12S V-Stage  kit with the a pretty nice console that had more sounds and less plastic that made it a bit more realistic to play on is fair piece of equipment . I have played on these for more than 5 years at my job where we teach on these particular sets. My boss Brett Frederickson and I think these sets are great, although some of the wiring components have shorted out after the 10 years of constant abuse. They still play very well and help the user to feel more comfortable on an electric set. We all want to play the acoustic but let’s be honest; you can’t stay up to late or in a dorm/apartment with an acoustic set.

Picture of the Roland TD-12S V-Stage. 

The new sets are nicer looking but they lack feeling in the rim and content available in the console. Some of the new technology available is better dynamic range, downloadable sounds though USB, more sounds, and DI (digital input) capability for recording and playing live. This new Roland TD-K V-Pro has a very fresh feel to it that makes it even more similar to your regular acoustic set. The look is more appealing with the different toms and cymbals but the big difference is the range of sound when trying to articulate high and low in a song.

Roland TD-K V-Pro

The High Hat cymbal is now two pieces and you can open and close it without any skipping or missing the trigger. The accuracy of this new High Hat makes for a much more realistic drum sound that you can hardly ever find in electric drums. I would love to convince Brett into getting a couple of these to teach on but he likes his TD-12S enough to hang on to. New technology inspires new creativity and I am very excited to see a new generation of technological drummers. One can easily slip away into a groove with no intentions of coming out. All the hope in the world to make silence means nothing as long as there is a beat. From that beat there is life and happiness, intellection and drive to become the best. From all this you have a new age go technological drummers. 

Entry 2: Superbowl time!

Taking a break from the regular grind of teaching Rug rats is nice every once and a while but this time there is food...And lots of it. The Super Bowl is an awesome time in American history where everyone gets together like a holiday to eat and enjoy an amazing game. Except for last year when Payton Manning and the Broncos were blown away by the Seattle Seahawks in a 43-8 point defeat. Hopefully this year will be a bit different considering both teams are expected to do well. It is hard to believe the number of people that watch this one game because not too many people watch the regular season.  According to Anthony Riccobono in his online article, How Many People Watched the Seattle Seahawks vs. Denver Broncos? 111.5 million People were watching Super Bowl XLVIII, which means more than a third of the entire U.S. population were watching the last game of the season.  But how many of those people watch the actual season games? Even more than that, most would not even pay attention to football if their home team was not winning. Why do we, as Americans (although not all Americans) feel the need to become attached to the winning teams although we do not even follow the sport?

Most just like to feel better in sharing success with a team that is somehow related to, whether it be because they were born their or because they have family from there or they just like the colors on the jerseys. It gets very irritating when people are very nonchalant about the regular season until week 16, and it is like they have been a fan since birth. In my opinion if you don’t like the sport enough to watch it until the last game then don’t bother watching the last couple games cause you already missed that team play so much already. Some might not have the time to devote to follow a team all season but if you are not watching the games why bother pretending to care about the sport. I can agree that it can be very boring sometimes to watch a football game now with all the commercials and pauses of the game, but the athleticism is something to be admired. Players are so devoted to their teams and people are making a mockery of their hard work by only tuning in to one game a year. Ironically, this year I was not so into football due to the fact that I had other things I preferred to do with my time. It is funny to think that just last year I was playing fantasy football and following player injuries, yet this year I barely managed to hear how my own team, The Packers, made it to the playoffs again.

If you ask me why I am going to watch the Super Bowl this year it is only because I want to see the Seahawks lose, because they always manage to get lucky and beat the Packers when it matters most. Now I can kind of understand the reasoning behind watching the last game of the season but I still believe appreciating the players who play the sport as well as the sport itself. Do you watch every game of the season? Are there people in your life who only like to watch the Super Bowl, or are you one of those people yourself? Let me know in the comments below.

Entry 1: Blog Reviews

Today in my English 101 class, our professor issued an assignment to look up some blog accounts and give our opinion on the blogs as well as our opinion on blogging as a whole. In doing this research I came across multiple blogs that I liked and did not like, yet still came upon some that were extremely fascinating. I found myself stuck on one blog account for almost an hour looking at pictures and reading all the crazy/amazing things people are talking about.

In my opinion blogs are great! For most it is an outlet of the authors humor, a way to talk to peers in a non-direct, yet professional manner or some are just information that people should defiantly know about. Whatever the case may be, I strongly believe that blogging is a healthy way to write, and can be used for so many reasons that can help tons of authors reach out to millions people. Because we live in such a high-tech society, there is not a better way to communicate with the amount of people that hop through the Web. For instance, Jenny Lawson is a highly successful blogger/author who has been blogging for years on a multitude of things. Including motherly advice, a game similar to Scrabble called Crapscrabble, and videos/photos of her cats and kids. What is important here is her freedom to write whatever she feels without any restrictions for anyone to see. This is a very healthy activity that I am so glad to now be apart of. 

The first blog I came upon was The Bloggess and I was stuck for nearly an hour reading about someone's life who I knew nothing about. I now know the names of her cats as well as a common family game she plays when she has company. Feeling as though I have been friends with this women for years now, I began to sense a a type of reader/author relationship with a women who does not even know I exist. I feel this way because she has given so much insight into her life and I can relate to some of the kooky family stuff and enjoy reading about her hilarious cat stories. What really kept me reading was the fact that none of the entries were too overwhelming in length and she never strayed from talking about one of the things that matters a lot to me: family is a very important aspect of life.

The next blog I am going to discuss was not as interesting. This blog was written by Mark Gurman, the senior editor of 9to5mac, who has done some very amazing things, and is only in his freshman year at collage. The man's credentials are not what makes this blog crappy because trust me he is impressively knowledgeable of computers and all Apple related material. What made this blog "not so great" in my opinion was the lack of personality that the blog had as well as the fact that it did not relate to me in any way. I am sure there is an audience that would actually find the weekly Apple updates fascinating, but that is just not for me. I am a bit smarter when it comes to OS X Yosmite 10.10.2, but I do not think i will ever be applying this to any conversations or problems I am faced with. Especially since I own an android product. 

Finally, the last blog I am going to report is on World War II written by Martin Cherrett. This amazing blog covers just about everything that happened in the second world war day by day. Cherrett's blog is full of fascinating details about the war that they do not teach you in history class, as well as videos and pictures from the 1940's. For example, I learned that the people who arrived at Auschwitz were divided into groups: strong, weak, and then young children and old/impaired were just exterminated, but not before the weak took their clothes and shoes for sorting. Watching the videos and seeing the images really helps you to understand the gravity of how terrible the Nazi army actually was. I enjoy reading about these thing because it is something that happened to America and war is never a boring topic.

I am actually grateful to have started this assignment on blogger and intend to use it after this eight week course is over. The blogs I found that I did like were worth coming back to so intend to do just that. For those of you who have not had a chance to check out some of these amazing blogs I recommend you check some out at The 25 Best Bloggers, 2013 Edition or at The Top 50 Blogger Powered Blogs to start your blogging journey. I can almost guarantee you will like this more then whatever social media website you are stuck to and ever so tired of.

 Have a merry blogging experience!

Introduction to my Blog

Hello! My name is Roger! I am 19 years old and  I live in Phoenix, AZ. I attend Glendale Community College. I am majoring in Communications, and minoring in music. I want to become a drum teacher of my own because I already teach drums for my original instructor, but there is no real money in that unless you start a private business of your own like my boss Brett Frederickson. I linked Brett's website at the bottom if you are at all interested. The first lesson is free! My hobbies include playing the drums, writing drum music, teaching drums, and watching Netflix with my girlfriend and hanging out with her amazing family(as shown below, this is just a few of the many relatives that I have been so reluctant to meet). Family is very important to me, as well as my education, so i plan on taking this assignment head on. I hope that some of you can relate to me and my blog, and my wacky drum filled life. http://www.drummersrule.net/