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Entry 10: Start of my Lo-fi Project

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            I am starting a music project now that I hope to complete by the end of the year. This project will be a Lo-fi EP of just instrumental music to relax to. I want to use all kinds of real instruments alongside some digital MIDI instruments and interesting sound design. In order to accomplish this, I will set some parameters for what this project will include. It will have about 5-10 songs of varying length and also have album artwork made by hand. On December 31 st of this year I want to post the EP on Youtube and share it with my friends to get their feedback. In terms of genre Lo-fi will be the focus, so more somber and chill sounds will be more prevalent however, I do want to make some more fast paced and heavy sounding things, but making that sound fit in with a lo-fi vibe will be a challenge. I listen to Lo-fi myself when reading comics, doing schoolwork, and even when falling asleep sometimes. Lo-fi music varies in length, some songs are the normal 2-3 minute length
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Entry #9: Factory Farming Article

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         https://thehumaneleague.org/article/what-is-factory-farming             This article starts by detailing what factory farming is and the different inhumane practices they use. It goes over practices like chickens being debeaked and how cows and pigs are tail docked. Debeaking is the practice of using a hot blade to remove parts of the chickens’ beaks, while tail docking is the practice of removing the animals’ tails. In the article they say that this is because the animals will bite and tear off bits of each other however if the animals weren’t confined in small spaces this wouldn’t be an issue. Cutting off parts of the animal cause lifelong pain for them and can even lead to infections. The article continues to pile more and more facts about how cruel and un healthy the living conditions are for factory farmed animals, mentioning confined spaces and even genetic manipulation which cause many medical conditions for the animals. The reason that this still happens is because of
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Entry #7: Fresh Documentary

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          After watching the documentary “Fresh” I was able to conclude that farming is a complex and divisive topic. This documentary showcases a bunch of farmers and details their experiences, from factory farms to more organic farms. The film is directed at the everyday person to inform them on different farming practices and how we can change the way we procure our food to be more efficient and morally acceptable.      One farm that stood out to me was “growing Power” started by Will Allen in Milwaukee. His farm is in the middle of a bustling city in a small plot of land that has a kitchen, 7 large greenhouses and indoor and outdoor training gardens. Will Allen teaches people about Urban agriculture and how to grow sustainable and healthy food. In the documentary he shows off how they take food waste to feed worms in order to create fertilizer for the crops they grow. The documentary then shows a bunch of people grabbing handfuls of food that was grown right in front of them. It’s
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Entry #8: Concept Albums

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     Concept albums are my favorite kind of album, some of my favorites include The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance, and more recently Clancy by twenty one pilots. The idea of a concept album is to tell a story or create a world that the songs live in and relate to. Each song builds lore and tells a story to convey a point or purpose. Some stories can be straight forward while others can be entirely subjective and up to the listener to decide the meaning. Both of the above mentioned albums have really deep stories and I am going to give a brief rundown on each one to show why I love this kind of writing.      First, I will go over The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance. This album is a rock opera, it has fast heavy metal guitar tones mixed with slow piano ballads throughout, this mix gives the album a dark and gritty tone while also balancing it out with beauty and sorrow. The story being told is about “The Patient” who is a kid that is tragically dying of cancer. The lyrics are f
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Entry #4: a never ending writers block

     Creating something like music is awkward for me because I don't know if I'm creating it for myself or other people. As of now it's been all for myself as I don't really show anybody what I create. I want to write about this now because I want to start sharing what I create with my friends. First, I will tell you about my process a bit. When I sit down at my piano or pick up my guitar I like to just play random chords that I picked up from learning other songs and mess around with the rhythm, or just really just try to play them in different ways. My process usually goes something like this… I will start with just 2 or 3 chords then maybe an overlaying melody, then from there it gets more tough. The song can go in so many different directions it’s hard to choose a path. I will mess around with an idea for a few hours and if it’s good enough in my head I will hit the save button, however most of the time it will end up in the trash bin and deleted that very same day
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Entry #5: Rhetorical Analysis of the bear ad

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          In the Mayhem Bear ad we see a man in a suit say that he is playing the part of a wandering bear who has come across an unattended vehicle in the woods. He then proceeds to destroy and presumably deal thousands of dollars of damage to the vehicle by getting into food that was left inside and even ripping a door directly off the hinges. He then proceeds to let the audience know that this could happen to you and that you should make sure that you’re covered for this kind of situation. This ad uses humor and a little bit of fear as well to motivate the people who see it to consider getting insurance or even switching their plan so that they don’t have to worry about crazy situations like the one presented in the video. The most prevalent tone in this ad is humor, and they convey this in multiple ways. The first thing that sticks out is the man in the suit explaining that he is a bear. It calls on the audience to use their imagination to put a bear in place of the man who is g
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Entry #3: How I rid myself of bad breath at work today.

      My breath is feeling the heat from my last meal, so I pull out this circular container that makes it sound like I just pulled a maraca out of my pocket, to hopefully keep the stench of my breath under control. I open the side of the container that says “one” in order to get one small white and almost powdery disc with tiny crystal blue spots. I roll the small disc in my hand then throw it into my mouth making sure not to swallow it whole. As it sits there it has almost a sweet taste, but then the taste grows into a sharp cool strength. It’s taking a while for the disc to dissolve, and the refreshing and quite cool taste continue to grow until it takes over completely, ridding me of the stench from my breath. I take an exhale and I can feel the difference. Instead of breathing rot, it feels more like breathing out a cool wind of ice. The mint is now only a spec on my tongue, then it slowly fades until all that’s left is the lingering cold of a chill storm on the tip of my tongue.
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