Entertainment
“House of Cards” has won three Emmys and a Golden Globe for its first season.To be frank-pun only intended for those who decide to watch the show-I believe you should start watching immediately. However, if you are in need of persuasion, I can help.
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I know finals week can be a real test of your patience. The idea for this playlist is less dance, and more taking a chill study break in Starbucks. Also, there is a negative feel to the music, but I went for a “making fun of stress” kind of thing. This playlist might also be good mopey music for morosely staring at your teacher. I would not suggest studying with music, but if you are going to (loud libraries or crowded coffee shops) this music is pretty good for that as well. I have also included a “pump up” song to listen to before the bell rings, a song to listen to after you are done with your test, and a song to blare on the ride home. The picture for the playlist is courtesy of Will “I’m a slave to photojournalism” Fleming. Don’t tell him I said this, but his pictures are really good. The picture for the 8 tracks playlist will also be from him.Link: http://8tracks.com/hopinfriend/a-white-blank-page-and-a-swelling-rage.
A White Blank Page and a Swelling Rage
Walk in listening to: Higher ~ The Saturdays
Directly after your test: Let It Go ~ The Neighbourhood (NOT A COVER OF THE DISNEY SONG)
Go home listening to: The Good Life ~ Weezer
We’ve all had that feeling. Lying awake in bed, worrying about the fictional character. Legitimately stressed out for the sake of an issue that does not exist in our world. For me, I got stressed out from Breaking Bad. Don’t get me wrong, I think that stress from a story is an accomplishment. I like something that makes me think and worry. However, there’s only so much until you have to fill your mind with some stupid-fun action movie like Pacific Rim or any super-hero movie. I myself have a low threshold for these stressful stories. It’s hard to find a complicated, great movie that captures you, but let’s you enjoy the ride. Prisoners is exactly that. Prisoners takes place in an unnamed dreary town. Our protagonist is Keller Dover, a carpenter and family man (played wonderfully by Hugh Jackman). Keller is a manly man. He hunts, works with his hands, and even has a fallout shelter in his basement. However, in his core, he is happy with his nice family and is content. He has a sweet wife (Maria Bello) and two kids, a teenage boy, Ralph, and an adorable six year-old girl, Anna.
The Dover family is very close with the Birch family, which consists of parents Franklin (Terrence Howard) and Nancy (Viola Davis). The Birch family also have two girls, who are the same ages as the Dover kids. Our story starts as the Dover family heads to the Birch house for Thanksgiving, spending a fun evening. After the teenagers walk around, watching the little ones, they must pull the kids off of a creepy RV that they are playing on. They hear heavy breathing inside and quickly leave. Later, Anna and her friend want to go home to get Anna’s whistle. Keller allows this, on the condition that the teenagers walk them home and back. Hours later, they realize that the girls left without the teenagers, and are nowhere to be found. The girls have been abducted. The plot thickens, as Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) arrests the RV’s owner (played by the underrated and talented Paul Dano), a creepy young man with a child’s mind. However, Detective Loki must release the suspect due to a lack of evidence, forcing Keller to take matters into his own hands, doing things that question the very nature of his own principles.
Now Prisoners is not fun whatsoever. It is dark, depressing, and at times, a bit sadistic. Prisoners is full of twists that you won’t see coming. However, the story doesn’t force feed the viewer twists. The movie allows the viewer to take in the twists, and although gasps may be inevitable, I was surprisingly pleased to not worry about the story, but to simply wonder what would happen, and enjoy the movie.
The movie was only nominated for one Oscar: cinematography. If it were up to me, it would win many things, but cinematography is what it deserves most. Prisoners is shot beautifully, and I had fun seeing how much work was put into it. For the first time in a long while, I watched a psychological thriller that didn’t stress me out. I have since watched it again, loving it more, and noticing even more symbols and plot points. I have a rental on my computer waiting for a third watch. This is a great movie. Watch it.
Enclosed are 18 songs to be the sound track for everyone who is going to be a heartbreaker/single pringle on Valentine’s Day. The playlist is geared more for women, but there is a little Beyoncé in every one of us, and that should be celebrated. There is nothing more empowering than bopping to class with TLC defining the term “scrub” at a truly irresponsible volume. Also, I am fairly sure that I will be wearing my heart on my cheek (metaphorically, maybe once or twice I will brave the actual challenge of drawing a heart on my cheek) until Valentine’s Day. I will attach the link to an 8tracks that has all of the songs. Note: confidence is golden, but subjecting everyone around you to an earful of Lil’ Mama through your ear buds is not the best way to start friendships. I am also not responsible for any choices (sartorial or otherwise) made after listening to this playlist. To put the subject of Valentine’s Day to rest: remember “Rule #1 is that you’ve got to have fun.”
And I Don’t Belong to Anyone - Click to Play
Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah) - originally by Gary Glitter, Joan Jett covers.
Say My Name – originally by Destiny’s Child, The Neighbourhood covers (part of mashup).
Cry Me a River – originally by Justin Timberlake, The Neighbourhood covers (part of mashup).
I might not have the vocab memorized, but I can sing all of the songs from the “Lizzie McGuire” movie from memory, so…
I will not have “guilty pleasure” media. There is nothing wrong with loving “Legally Blonde” and/or Kafka.
At least I’m not that one kid that walks into class five minutes after break ended with a coffee from High Five Pie.
I can come home to Starbucks. The woman behind the counter will not judge me for my science grade. She will only judge me for asking for a light Frappuccino with extra coffee. I’m kind of sorry, Brenda.
I will go to college and have a future even if I don’t get a good grade in a project where part of the grade is dressing up like an insane power-hungry crackpot from before Italy was unified.
My power nail polish changes things. I could kill a man with my power nail polish on.
I might have acne, but at least I don’t point out people’s acne.
I will remember that my advisor wants to be here less than I do.
I can sit alone at a meeting. Having someone next to me does not complete me as a person.
I will write assignments in my glitter gel pens, and no one can stop me.
“Flotus” – Flying Lotus
I’ve always loved Flying Lotus’s production; he keeps it simple but his sound design is some of the best I have ever heard, which makes his songs interesting.
The majority of his songs do not have lyrics, and to be honest, I think this is why I enjoy his work so much. The string ensemble and piano combined in this song build up to a terrific “drop.” People may disagree with me on this, but I don’t think rap would sound good over this beat. If anything, there should be some good ole soulful jazz singing.
“Misty Morning Off Hills” – Sundrenched
I’ve been listening to a lot of Sundrenched lately and this is definitely one of my favorite songs of his. The simple rhythm of the song makes it very soothing, but the textures add a lot of interest. If you’re into this song, you should look up some of his other music on his Soundcloud because it is some of the most unique I’ve heard.
“Snow” – Rejjie Snow
You’re probably already familiar with Irish staples like Guiness or the Leprechaun, but what you may not know about The Emerald Isle is that it is home to a buzzing underground hip-hop community. One of the most promising talents from that pool is the twenty-year-old rapper, Rejjie Snow. He is one of the more lyrical and insightful rappers I’ve stumbled upon in recent times. You’d be fooled into assuming that you’d be confronted with a thick Irish accent. Instead, Rejjie’s details of his hometown tales sometimes extenuate his voice and mould it around his sound – something which provides a truly unique and at times enriching quality to his music.
“Miss U Always” – Snakehips
This kind of music makes my head right. Hailing from London, England, Snakehips is a nineteen-year-old producer and has released over five original mixes in the past year. I’m a big fan of cutting up vocal samples, and Snakehips does this with ease. This particular sample is used continuously throughout his songs – it’s like his watermark. Check out any of his other hits - He never fails to produce those good vibes.
“You” – Dadras
I originally came across Dadras while watching one of Jay Z’s Life+Times videos, “Welcome to the Future.” This song immediately captivated me and I found that by the end of the video, I was jamming out and couldn’t help myself from dancing. Dadras also has one of the most unique sounds I have ever heard. He incorporates organic sounds, like trickling water, and his electro musical composition flawlessly creates an original atmosphere like I’ve never heard.
“You Took Your Time” – Mount Kimbie ft. King Krule
This collaboration includes some of the most sought after vocalists and electronic artists in the UK right now. Both Mount Kimbie and King Krule are known for their distinctive instrumentation and songcraft. This song’s wistful instruments and soft-focus electronics make it so easy to love. Coincidentally, both performers have toured and played a show in Seattle in this past month… neither of which I have been able to attend!! :( Nevertheless, this song is definitely worth a listen.
“Blue” – Beyonce
Had to. Can I just say that I was extremely taken off guard by the arrival of this album? I think it is fair to say that we all thought Beyonce was moving on from her music career and starting to settle into her role as a mother to her young daughter. Boy did she prove us wrong. This visual album is composed of 14 new songs and 17 music videos. Listening through the previews of the songs, I felt that Blue really spoke to me. The track includes the voice of her daughter, Blue Ivy, and has freshness to it, combining African beats with muted modern hip-hop.
“Life Round Here” – James Blake ft. Chance
The hypnotic sounds of James Blake joined forces with the versatile talents of Chance The Rapper in a melancholic remix to “Life Round Here.” An extremely racially charged music video was produced shortly after the release. You would think that the addition of rap pasted in this song would seem artificial, yet Chance makes himself right at home alongside Blake’s production and voice. The vintage quality of the footage helps setup the metaphor. Additionally, all the occurrences the two artists encounter while driving down a winding road in England help solidify the director’s vision.
Hello Reader,
I originally wrote an article about gift giving. However, after walking around Capitol Hill taking pictures of different shops, I decided that I would rather rewrite the article and make it revolve around the stores more than giving gifts. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy!
Spin Cycle
Spin Cycle is my favorite store on Capitol Hill. This lovely store on Broadway sells DVDs, Records, and Video Games. As a lover of movies, games, and music, I find this store to be a treasure trove. Everything is used and cheap. Also, as to selling things to the store, the employees are extremely friendly and give you way too much money for your seemingly useless items. For a music lover or gamer, this is a great store to check out!
Dilettante Chocolates
Sometimes the best gift is something that can be gone within minutes. Let’s face it, food is the best! And chocolate? Even better! For anyone that likes the feeling of enjoyment, this is a great place to get them chocolate.
Crossroads Trading Co.
I know nothing about clothes or fashion so I asked a friend (who will by her wishes remain anonymous), who tends to wear clothes and like the clothes that she wears, about where to find great outfits. She said that Crossroads was a really nice store that had “neat clothing at very cheap prices.”
The Shop Agora
For the foodie that likes to cook more than eat, or for the selfish gift giver that wants to say, “Make me food,” The Agora, a Greek export shop on 15th Avenue is perfect. Agora has a very nice selection of wine, pasta, and food that looks so good I get intimidated. It’s a cool place, and I really enjoy looking there.
Remedy Teas
Alright, letting out my soft side, I will confess…I have an addiction to tea. I love all kinds of teas and Remedy Teas on 15th has (as seen in the pictures) all kinds of loose leaf teas. Hundreds of different kinds actually. I am giddy when I am in the store and recommend it to everyone I meet.
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Hi Everyone,
Welcome to the Outfits of the Week column. Each week we will feature photographs of Seattle Academy students sporting their unique outfits. If you would like to be featured, email me, Nadia Jamrozik (nadiajamrozik@seattleacademy.org).
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