Jason Maybe Scary, But Paradoxes Will Haunt You Forever

Like every Halloween for the past six years, another grisly installment of the Saw series was released, only this time it didn't reach the number one spot. Maybe it had a lot to do with the fact that the creativity of series died out after the second film and now it's just a gorefest. Or it could be that people were tired of the same old premise and wanted something different. That's exactly what Paranormal Activity did and word of mouth got it a nationwide release and a jump to the number one spot of the box office.

I only learned of the movie a week prior to its limited release and although I still haven't seen the movie, I'm fascinated by the claims of this being the scariest movies despite the lack of violence. I've read up on the film and I don't know if it was done intentionally, but the director sort of makes a possible metaphor to our own lives and I think that's where the horror is coming from. The film follows a young couple, Micah and Katie, who move into a suburban home and we learn that Katie is followed her whole life by a demon. I've refused to know the ending and therefore you don't have to worry about me revealing it to you, but a great deal of the movie takes place in the bedroom where Micah has set up a video camera so he could record what happens as they sleep. A lot of people claim they freak out during these scenes. In a way this reminds me of some of Andy Warhol's films. The psychological aspects of the film seems to be some homage to Alfred Hitchcock, which is ironic since Psycho was a film that was long remembered after audience stepped out of the theater.

The demon although it could be seen as something supernatural, can also be viewed in metaphorical terms. Demons can also be interpreted to mean our own internal struggles through lives and sometime when those demons take over they can have horrific consequences on certain parts of our lives including our familes, our friends, and our jobs. Although this message of dealing with our own demons is probably not the message at the forefront, but I get the feeling that it does appear subconsciously and I think it's the reason why we so many are calling this the scariest movie of all time. Movies like Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare having that sense of fake present in them and we know they could not happen. Even in the Saw movies, you must suspend all aspects of reality. However, a film like Paranormal Activity, which exposes its audience to potentially realistic, psychological experiences reminds us of the scariest, most fearful horror villain of all time; the mind.

All Work And No Play, This has been Ian Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

Blowin' In The Brass Windpipe: Two Centuries of The Blues Harp

I have always considered the harmonica to be one of my favorite instruments and although I've tried learning it, I never managed to pick up on it. There are plenty of bands or artists that I listen to who often feature the harmonica in many of their songs. In fact, there are many harmonica players, who perform such moving harmonica solos. While the harmonica still remains widely popular in the blues, folk and country genres, it has branched out to other styles of music over the past several decades. We'll take a look at some of the most influential harmonica players, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and John Popper.

The harmonica has always and will always remain one of the major components of the Blues. When records featuring the harmonica first appeared in the 1920s, it was considered a staple instrument among the African American communities in the South until the Memphis Jug Band sparked interest among the Black and White communities. Ironically, the harmonica has often surrounded the history of American oppression. The harmonica eventually made it's way up North to Chicago, where it helped define the Chicago Blues sound of artists like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Paul Butterfield, and Willie Dixon. In the 60s and 70s, the harmonica would find its way into classic rock and still can be found in contemporary music. Without further ado, here are some of the most influential harmonica players of our time.

#1 - Sonny Boy Williamson II - From Robert Johnson and Elmore James to The Yardbirds and the Band, Sonny Boy Williamson played with them all. This is Eyesight To The Blind, which was later covered by The Who for their rock opera "Tommy."



#2 John Lennon - A brilliant songwriter and eccentric artist, John Lennon also happened to be a pretty good harmonica player. The opening bars of the Beatles first #1 hit, "Love Me Do," features a bluesy harmonica progression. John played the harmonica in several other early Beatles songs including, Please Please Me, From Me To You, I Should Have Known Better, I'm A Loser,and later on in Rocky Raccoon.



#3 Robert Plant - Four words - Bring It On Home.



#4 Bob Dylan - A friend of my felt that his style is rather sloppy. Still he's been a major influence to numerous musician's and folky blues style is good to listen to.



#5 Neil Young - He doesn't just play the harmonica. He speaks through it and he has a fair, share of beautiful harmonica solos. My personally favorite would have to be from "My My Hey Hey."



#6 - John Popper - One of the more contemporary harmonica players, he first caught my attention at the end of Kingpin. You've probably heard of his band, The Blues Travelers, best known for, "Run Around", and "Hook." Anyway, John Popper is one of the best modern harmonica players out there so check him out.



So check out these cool harmonica bits and let me know what you think.

This has been Ian K Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

In Media Res/ Uhmm Excuse Me

Right now I'm in between studying and preparing for three midterms, so I am limited with the free time I have to post much material. I'm hoping to do an article this weekend on that Balloon Boy but I don't want to promise anything. In the meantime, here's something that I've been wanting to post for the past two weeks.

I'm taking sociolinguistics this semester and one of my responses got a really positive feedback and I would like to get your opinion of the situation. Most of the chapter dealt with how women and men are defined by the kind of language they choose to utilize. One section in particular deals with interactions between members of the same sex, as well as members of the opposite sex. Interruption, gossip (yes, men do gossip.) and feedback are all examples of interaction. My response comes from a statement made in the book that claims in cross-gendered interactions, almost all the interruptions came from males." The author, who happens to be a woman, is implies that men have no trouble breaking into a conversation. However, based on my personal experiences, I find this to be a fallacy. I decided to give my take on the issue and my professor commended me for offering a contradicting explanation to what the book claims. Here it is and please feel to post your thoughts.

“In cross-gender interactions, almost all the interruptions were from males.” (pg. 306.) This line really stood out to me because there have been number of times that this has happened to me. There have been a number of times where I have wanted to put my two cents into a conversation that I found interesting, but most of the time I find it difficult to find the perfect spot to jump in. I sometimes feel hesitant about breaking into a conversation, especially if it’s with a group of girls, because I don’t want to blurt out something that comes off stupid. I guess that’s where my typical male ego kicks in, but I’m sure a lot of guys will agree that unless a girl brings you into a conversation, it’s not so easy finding the right time to break in. I personally feel that it’s easier for a guy to start a conversation with a girl and then have other people join in whenever they feel it’s necessary. One thing that a guy should not do is wait until the discussion is over to make a comment because girls will give you a look that reads, “Dude, that was five minutes ago.”

I do notice that people rarely have a problem with interruptions when it comes to talking to members of the same sex, especially for women. I’ve seen women go from being strangers to finishing each others sentences after one class and that’s amazing. I also get the feeling that most women know the right time to “break the ice” and I think a lot of that has to do with body language and the detection of certain cues. I’m sure that guys have similar cues but I’ve never taken the time to make note of it. In the end, we can assume that both males and females interact better with members of their gender.

This has been Ian Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

Temporary Reformat

With school work and other stuff piling on to my Fall Semester, I have become very limited in the free time I have to post up entries. Since, I don't really don't want to go on an indefinite hiatus, I've decided to temporarily change the format of the site. For now, I will only be publishing articles and papers that I have written, which I feel might be of interest to you. This includes stuff from The Banner, my own assignment and prior side projects.

Once again, I apologize for not posting as much for the past month, but it certainly doesn't mean I'm putting my pen or, in this case, my keyboard down anytime soon.

This has been Ian K. Feldman speaking words of wisdom.