OR #3

ITS INTENSENESS TIME yeah that means numbuh t'ree mon.

ALLLLLLLLLLLLRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY THEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNuh. For this week's episode, I 'finna' analyze a song I like very much, "New Slang" by The Shins. For the reader's sake, the lyrics will be given so they can form their own opinion and compare it to my own. The video can be found here. I would advise watching the video, because, hey. Its a good song, and it helps you understand the song a little bit better.

--

Gold teeth and a curse for this town were all in my mouth.
Only, i don't know how they got out, dear.
Turn me back into the pet that i was when we met.
I was happier then with no mind-set.

And if you'd 'a took to me like
A gull takes to the wind.
Well, i'd 'a jumped from my tree
And i'd a danced like the king of the eyesores
And the rest of our lives would 'a fared well.

New slang when you notice the stripes, the dirt in your fries.
Hope it's right when you die, old and bony.
Dawn breaks like a bull through the hall,
Never should have called
But my head's to the wall and i'm lonely.

And if you'd 'a took to me like
A gull takes to the wind.
Well, i'd 'a jumped from my tree
And i'd a danced like the kind of the eyesores
And the rest of our lives would 'a fared well.

God speed all the bakers at dawn may they all cut their thumbs,
And bleed into their buns 'till they melt away.

I'm looking in on the good life i might be doomed never to find.
Without a trust or flaming fields am i too dumb to refine?
And if you'd 'a took to me like
Well i'd a danced like the queen of the eyesores
And the rest of our lives would 'a fared well.

--

My views on this songs are kind of all over the place. I think its about growing up in a small town where everything seems dead. Where each day whizzes past until its all just a blur and you've lost your youth and your innocence. With that youth and innocence thing, I think the song reflects on how when you are young and you don't know about all the bad things in the world, not much can get you down, and you really are living the ultimate carefree life that everyone is looking for but can't find. Its in your childhood. In the video, the way the band is separated from the town in a room with paint and decoration suiting a child's room and the fact that the band is giving us this message further enforces that until you become enlightened to how you are wasting away worrying about the world (walking about the town which is in quite a dreary color scheme) you could be opening your eyes (in the brightly colored room). I could go into further detail addressing each verse, but i have other homework to get to, so I'll just touch on a couple lines. The first line, "gold teeth and a curse for this town were all in my mouth" suggests discontent with a small town from someone living there (hence 'this town'). The third and fourth lines have a dual meaning. The lines read, "Turn me back into the pet that i was when we met.
I was happier then with no mind-set." These can mean that the 'singer' (or listener as the case may be) feels stuck in a relationship and it is bringing them down, or that the town and time has turned them into older, more melancholy people than they were in the beginning. So basically how they were before 'this town' got to them.

A'IGHT THAT'S IT FOO'! ... FIGHTERS... they are a good band BTW... btdubs... k im tired.

OR #2

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY there ALL of my MANY DILIGENT readers... Hi Mrs. B! And Adam! I know you have been waiting ever so patiently and eagerly for my next awesome installment in my montage entitled "OR: Outside Reading." Well, dear readers, the wait is OVER!!!

Yeah, sorry about that. Anyway, this week I read a little article called "Front four makes life miserable for the QBs" (by Judd Zulgad... WHOA THAT IS A SWEET NAME!) which I am sure makes no sense to the reader. The title is simply remarking on the efficiency of the four defensive linemen (the guys trying to get the quarterback) of the Vikings, and that they executed their plan to get the quarterback QUITE NICELY IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF. Long story short, their efforts made it possible for the secondary to do their job of covering the pass QUITE NICELY IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF. Antoine Winfield forced a fumble and ran it in for a touchdown, and the Vikings racked up five sacks and seven hurries, helping the Vikings to win the game (vs. Carolina) 20-10. Kevin Williams and Jared Allen committed the sacks, Williams 2 Allen 1, and combined had five of the seven hurries, Williams 2, Allen 3. The win was Minnesota's first this season, but Allen is optimistic that more will follow. The Vikings are second in North standings, behind the Green Bay Packers, who are at 2-1, not far out of reach. The Vikings hope to knit together the new members of the team with the old to create a solid team to do well this season and go farther the next. AND THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED IN MY LIFE.

OR #1

Earlier today in math class, I read an article from The Chronicle Review entitled "The Russians Are Coming." I will address the entire article, being only seven pages, rather than picking out bits and pieces. It was written by seven journalists, (here we go...) Stephen Kotkin, Nina Khrushcheva, Edward Lucas, Ellen Carnaghan, Marshall Goldman, and Sean Kay. The point of this article was the 'resurgence' of Russia's state of autocracy. Russia has been booming off of its vast oil economy, growing an astounding 7% each year for the past decade (just so you know THAT'S A LOT) and has been dominated by Vladimir Putin as President, and as Prime Minister (right now) because he more or less controls the president. About half of the journalists believed the Russian economy and influence would fall at the end of global oil dependency, but the other half believed Russia was here to stay (that's a good song btw) and here to cause trouble. Russia has time and again said that a strong center to the government is the best answer for the country and that democracy has had its chance, and failed. There has been outright support of the autocratic state of the olden days (MOTHERLAAAAAAAAAAAAAND) by Russian officials, and those interviewed in the article. One thing that could stop Russia from gaining power, which it has been doing by working its way into the top ten economies in the world, is the Russia investments on US soil, which if the US falls, will follow it, bringing down Russia as well. All i can say is that this will certainly be interesting, if not tense.