Local Newspaper Article-2009 Monterey Jazz Festival

Every year the city of Monterey hold a jazz festival lasting a weekend long. After celebrating the 52nd anniversary of having the jazz festival, this year proved to be one of the best. An article in the Monterey County Weekly named off just a few famous musicians that helped bring the amazement to the finale on Sunday. Not only were there several actual jazz players, but there also was a new twist, blues. Susan Tedeschi has a blues band, and she brought to the stage a powerful performance with her guitar based band. I believe that this is a truly amazing thing that the city of Monterey puts on every year. I think that it brings good life and entertainment to the streets, and it gives people a chance to experience the true beauty of the music and soul of jazz. 

Club Fair

On Wednesday there was a club fair held at the Student Center. There were a lot of different clubs and activities that are put on by the students of CSUMB. One booth that I stopped at was the bicycle club. They had an offer up for anyone in the school to go on a 4 mile bike ride on Sunday. 

Another club that I liked was a "Ladies in Pink." This is a club of girls that do volunteer work throughout our community. I have always wanted to volunteer in a homeless shelter and serve food. When I looked at their pamphlet later on in the day, it said that they have perviously volunteered at Dorothy's Kitchen, a local women's shelter. I am now considering joining this club because I like what there mission is. 

Going to this club fair was a good thing because it opened my eyes to what is going on in our school, and made me want to become more involved with school activities.

Technology

Technology, something that each and every person uses on a daily bases, even something that people could not live without these days. Take the clock for example. The clock that is used in the classroom, as well as in every modern home, is something that we rely on every day and every hour. Time is something that is very important, it keeps everyone on track , and it keeps everyone organized. Without the clock's helpful display, nobody would really know what time is was, and everyone would be on different time schedules. The clock and time affects me in a lot of different ways, it helps me to organize my life, and keep my life on track as well. As James Burke states, a "technology trap" is something that you literally cannot get out of in the case of a technology break down. Another example in my opinion would be theme parks. In the case of a technology disaster, the roller coasters of our days would stop in an instant. Therefor, we would be trapped, until a reboot of energy, or an alternate power source was used.  My opinion on our dependence on technology is that we do depend very much on technology, and it would be hard to live without it. However, I believe we could live without it. It's been done before, and it could be done again. But few people today would choose to live without it after having lived with t for so long. I believe that technology has made a giant leap since the 1960's. If we were ever to have another blackout like the one in New York in 1965, I believe that it would be more of a tragedy. I believe this because we now have even more technology, and more things that we would need to worry about if we were ever to have another blackout. I think that technology may stray us away from our natural instinct for a moment, but they always kick back in. Once technology bails on us, our natural instincts come back, as they always will. It may seem as though it has separated from our true beings and nature, but past all the wires and technology, it is still there. I think that if the power were to ever go out in CSUMB, we would run out of resources very quickly. For example, in the dining commons, we are constantly refilling and restocking everything. As far as the alternate power source goes, the generators, they only last for so long. And once those generators crash, there is not another source of energy to back us up. This is where we would panic, meaning that we may depend a little too much on technology itself.

Local Newspaper Article-Coordinating Anti-Gang Efforts

There has been an outbreak of gang violence among the Monterey County recently, especially in Salinas. There has been a mass effort of people trying to control and educate the people of gang violence. However, it seems that the community around is the least bit of help. There has been several anti-gang violence programs launched, but the little of community support with these programs seems to flush them all away. Too much of the city budget is being used on these programs, with no result of better changes, therefor the city no longer wants to fund them. Although Salinas was unwilling to participate in the past programs, a recent meeting was held, and an expert in national crime prevention stated that he sees a lot of potential in Salinas, and there is hope for the future.

I believe that this is very important to continue raising awareness and prevention for gang violence, even if it continues to get shut down. Gang violence has been a problem in Salinas for a long time, and the constant effort to stop it will pay off in the long run. 

Multitasking

Often times, people may see multitasking as a distraction, and a bad thing. But others, like me, see it as a good thing, and a very helpful thing at that. Multitasking for me is a way of getting more than one thing done at a time, or enjoying more than one thing at a time. Being focused on one task at a time, has been proven to be more efficient, according to Charles J. Abate, the author of "You say Multitasking Like It's a Good Thing." The myth in question is that multitasking saves time. This is true, however your brain is simply incapable of focusing on two tasks at a time. Therefor, whatever it is that you are doing, is getting done faster, but not better. Another myth that Abate talks about in his article is that multitasked learning is as good as single-tasked learning, when in fact it is not. Studies show that when you are in an uninterrupted learning environment, you learn more efficiently. Whereas in an interrupted environment, you just don't learn as well. I believe this is true because your brain can only truly focus on one thing at a time, and when learning multiple things at once, you are not getting every bit of information. A myth recently brought into question is that multitasking is the forte of the young. That kids these days are much better at multitasking than the olden days. This may seem to be true, but its not. No matter your age, multitasking is a habit, and people do it. I do it, and I realize that it is probably not as efficient as a single minded activity, but its a way of life now. And people rely on the ability to multitask, including me.

Jazz Exhibit Experience

My overall impression of the Jazz: The Syncopation of Democracy exhibit was good. I was impressed with the variety of examples and information that informed us about the jazz age. I was very impressed with the music part of the exhibit. For me, hearing the music, and hearing the soul throughout the songs was my window. I appreciate music very much, and it is a big part of my life. I felt like I was personally connected to the music part of the exhibit because in my life, music reaches out to me. So when I was listening to the Summertime songs, I felt like I could relate to the soul within the song.  believe that the connection between jazz and democracy is similarity. In democracy, you  have to be willing to hear another’s point of view, and acknowledge it. Within the music of jazz, the music is the conversation, and people respond to just what you are playing. George Gershwin worked on the opera, “Porgy and Bess,” while composing “Summertime.” Summertime is sung multiple times throughout the opera “Porgy and Bess,” in many different ways and tones. The connection between jazz and opera could be that both genres of music come from within, and from the soul. The juxtaposition of Nina Simone’s lyrics and Tupac Shakur’s writing was intentionally done in the exhibit because I believe that it symbolized the connection between the two, and the similarity of meaning. It also displays the fact that maybe music hasn’t changed as much as we have thought. These days, a lot of popular music is in the genre of rap. Tupac Shakur is still very popular amongst people today. However, the language of rap has changed. Tupac’s music was focused around real life things, and his intentions were to get something across to people. Whereas today, it’s simply for brief entertainment. 

Local Newspaper Article-Jewish Food Festival

The Jewish Food Festival is held every year in the Carmel Valley. This event is held to interest people in the jewish culture. At this event, they have food that you can buy, and food that you can sample. In order to buy the food, you have to exchange your american dollars for wooden "gelt" that they used as a form of currency. They also have activities like a tour, live music, storytelling, and even a jewish wedding re-enactment. Every year this event becomes more popular. This year, crowds were up to 3,000 people. I think that the jewish food festival is a good way to get people familiar with other cultures, and to just get a taste of what is out there. I didn't know about the jewish food festival this year, and I was bummed to hear that I had missed it. After reading this article, I will definitely be attending next year to expand my horizons, and learn some new things!

Growth and Fixed Mindsets

My mindset throughout the last week of school has been an on and off mixture of growth and fixed. Beginning my week in a new environment, and in a new comfort zone, I had an open mind. For my first two classes, FYS 100 and CST 104, I believe that I went in with a fixed mindset. I figured that it would be an easy class, no big deal, and I wouldn't have to work as hard. However, after the second session of FYS and CST that I attended, I realized that I was in for a little bit more of a challenge, but that was okay. My mindset then changed from fixed, to growth. This was because I realized that this class was meant to better my knowledge, and I needed to accept the learning experience that was being provided. I saw this as something that I would not give up on, but instead learn and grow from.  To sum up my entire week, I believe that I had a growth type mindset. Once I was knocked out of the fixed mindset, I realized that I needed to constantly be in the growth mindset, and unceasingly be accepting of improvement. Not only in the next few weeks, but in life as a whole. 

The Jazz Age and Chicago-Sidney Bechet

Sidney Bechet was a very memorable musician, and was known by his amazing technique in playing the clarinet and the soprano saxophone.
Throughout his life, he traveled all over the world to play his instruments. He was good at any instrument that he picked up, and he was well known for it.
After touring throughout Europe, Bechet recorded two albums.
All of his hard work paid off as he became a national icon and was then a role model to several young musicians everywhere.
Bechet was a very admirable and unforgetable musician, and inspired many along his journey.

http://www.neajazzintheschools.org/artists/bechet.html