HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

So today is Halloween, and I forgot about it, until I was about to walk out of my room and head to the LAB. This NEVER happens! I never forget Halloween, but when you think about it, when I'm at home I see all of the decorations going up and know the holiday is approaching. Here, we just have the autumn decorations. It's interesting how closed off from the mainstream world I'v become. I quite like it though.While making cookies a week ago, someone else had the TV on and an add for ABC's 25 days of Christmas movie marathon was already being advertised! Excuse my language briefly, but here's Aaron's thoughts on Christmas already being talked about:

"GO TO HELL CHRISTMAS!"

Sorry for that tiny outburst. I think that the real meaning of this holiday is lost tin the shuffle of stupid Christmas romance movies, the endless amount of music. Thanksgiving is far enough away. Why does it have to intrude upon the awesome, scary celebration of Halloween!?!

Pictures later of everyone's costumes. I'm getting Genna to take pictures for me!

So far we have:

Ian - Gangster
Genna - Tinkerbell
Chase - King
Gwen, Reilly, Olivia, and Kate - cheer squad girls
Ana - Elmo
Ella- evil mother from the movie Tangled
Megan- planet earth
Jessie - Sarah Palin
Katie - penguin
Russ and Kai - bike mechanics
Garrett - Gay pride fairy
Brooke - Pebbles
Zeki - Tony Stark
Maia - nerd
me- sciencey lab-coat wearing person
Molly - cookie monster
Kaia - autumn fair
Teahelahn - cave lady
George - jester
Mattie - lion
Carolyn - ghost
John - evil mast wearing person

Again.. pictures to come this evening! :D

Song Analysis of "Society"

For a recent English paper we each chose to analyze a song from the Into the Wild soundtrack. I chose "Society." If you are interested take a look! :D

Many of the most famous or popular books in our culture have been turned into movies. The Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings series are two good examples of this. The book, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, is based upon the real-life adventures of Chris McCandless, also known under the pseudonym of Alexander Supertramp, a 23 year old man from a “well-to-do family” who walked alone into the wilderness of Alaska. After four months, in August 1992, he was found dead in an old Fairbanks bus. In 2007, eleven years after Krakauer first published his book, a major motion picture arrived in theaters. But before the movie was seen by the public, American singer-songwriter Eddie Vedder, perhaps most famous for being the lead singer of the popular alternative rock band Pearl Jam, was given the task of creating a soundtrack for the Into the Wild movie. While he covered some of the songs included in the soundtrack, he created the majority of them. One of the songs which strikes a resonating chord with me is “Society.” “Society” was originally written by John Hannan but was covered by Vedder in the soundtrack. Vedder seems to use “Society” as a way to convey what he thinks McCandless was thinking during the period of his life covered in Into the Wild. “Society” helps convey the intense feelings of McCandless through both the powerful, yet simple words and the almost haunting melody. Depending upon where you apply the song, it can have very different meanings. For instance, if you applied a portion of “Society” to only the beginning of story, you would get a much different analysis than if you applied it to McCandless’ dying days.

Chris McCandless finds the fact that we as human beings accept the presence of greed in society a “mystery to me.” He sounds very condescending towards society, referencing the general society almost like greedy machines who take and take and never stop and appreciate what they have. He seems to set himself apart from the rest of society in these words by speaking to instead of with. This recurring pattern of separation and condescension continues on with “society, you’re a crazy breed.” Once again McCandless has removed himself from the main stream group and started viewing society as a separate entity from himself, hence the use of the word “breed.” Chris was fed up with all of the frivolous distractions that the unavoidable rat race of life presented. He saw that society was unable to escape the rat race of life. The rat race concept seems to stem from the horrible misconception that to be happy in life we need to collect material objects along with earning atrocious amounts of money. People’s lives become consumed with these goals and they are unable to stop, think, and see if they are genuinely happy. If you are able to pause and assess a situation, then most of the time you will find that you are not doing what you really love and all of your thoughts and beliefs get muddled and lost in the shuffle. The word “bleed” can be thought of as symbolic of painful, bad and negative. At this point you have crossed the line of confusion and don’t know what you want at all. Chris wanted no part in this life and only wanted raw emotions and actions. Getting away from all the madness was Chris’s solution.

On the flipside, like almost everything in life, there’s always an exception to the rule. There are always the people who are the outsiders or the ones who have vastly different ideas. Chris valued those people who did more thinking about life. He appreciated those who thought that “less is more.” Chris considered himself one of the few that did think that less is more. He was drawn to the romantic “less is more” anti-materialism lifestyle, and he resented the fact that he was from the “more is more” way of life. This way of life could have been what Chris’ childhood was like, and he loathed being reminded of it. He also seems like he had hard feelings towards his parents because they had given him everything that he needed/wanted. Chris wanted to experience this new way of life, which sounded like it was full of independence. The problem with being anti-materialistic is that most of mainstream society doesn’t understand that you can be satisfied and happy with fewer things. Most people think that when you remove things from your life you begin to sink down, but Chris is saying that by removing things you can actually rise up. If you listen closely to the guitar solo in the middle of the song, right before the verses about rising and falling, the note ascends, peaks, and then begins to fall again. In addition, within this portion, after he says that “every point you make your level drops… you can’t do that” with a falling note. In addition, when I hear the solo I imagine mountains and an empty feeling of solitude and silence.

            “I hope you’re not lonely without me” is such a powerful statement. This phrase could apply to many situations in life. It works for Chris’ situation when he left society and headed out into the Alaskan wilderness, but it also applies at the very end of his life when he is dying alone in Fairbanks bus 142. When Chris headed off into the Alaskan wilderness it seems as though he was sure that he wanted to get away from the hurricane of life. This phrase could be said almost sarcastically by him. In this sense he is saying that he’s leaving and society, or closer to home, his parents, can’t do or say a thing to change his decision. Another point that I think is very important to mention is in the last few postcards that Chris sent out to his new friends Wayne Westerberg and Jan Burrs.

            “If this adventure proves fatal and you don’t hear from me again, I want you to know you’re a great man. I now walk into the wild.”        - Postcard received by Wayne Westerberg

Earlier in the postcard Chris wrote “this is the last you shall hear from me.” It is clear from this note that Chris didn’t take walking “into the wild” lightly. He understood that danger was omnipresent, but he also makes sure to include an “if” in this statement. This leaves room for success. However, at the beginning of the postcard Chris puts himself into the past tense by saying “this is the last you shall hear from me Wayne.” This seems to have a very negative and final intonation. Perhaps Chris thought that if he went out by himself, he was going to live life alone, but he could have also sensed that if he left he was going to die. “I hope you’re not lonely without me” now comes across as a morbid statement.

Fast forward towards the end of Chris’ life when he was lonely and knew he was dying. He wished that he could go slip back into society. In the end it seemed he decided that he wanted to be part of society, just not right smack in the middle of it, but now he is stuck, in the wilderness of Alaska within his bus. The only thing he had left to do was turn towards society and appeal for help. The problem was that he realized too late that what he really desired was to exist amongst the people and have a presence, but simultaneously wanted to be able to fade away when he wanted. In his dying days Chris seemed regretful that he wasn’t back in society. Hence the following to phrases:

“HAPPINESS IS ONLY REALWHEN SHARED”

However, in his dying days, Chris seems to have come to the conclusion that he has lived out his dreams, and seems to accept the fact that he is going to perish. This statement below makes it appear as though he is content with leaving and being away form society.

“I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL”

Vedder uses a lot a repetition in this song. Chris’ beliefs about how society is stuck in a rut of greed and materialism meshes nicely with this repetitive quality. In this song the word “you” and “you’re” combined is used 29 times! Often the “you’s” come one right after another such as “when you think more than you want.” There are a lot of aspirants such as “there’s those thinking more or less less is more.” The presence of aspirants makes the whole song flow, almost like that of a river or that of a circle turning around and around. Circles bring me back to the vicious cycle of mainstream society wanting more and more and the nine-to-five day. Everything seems to be connected. In addition, the musical accompaniment is made up of only four chords that are repeated twice; hence more repetition.

Have you ever listened to a song and thought “Wow! This is how I think! This songwriter hit the nail on the head!”? I believe that this song applies to many people not just Chris McCandless. A good example of this is me. I have similar thoughts and ideas on this same subject, and I don’t hesitate for a second when I say that there are plenty of other people who have the same belief. From listening to the first few seconds of the song, you, the listener, realize that it is from the perspective of McCandless talking to society at large. The song, however, seems to portray society as a single person, an individual human being that is being spoken to from Chris McCandless’ point of view. Through song, Eddie Vedder, gives us, the listeners, an opportunity to interpret McCandless’ emotions on a deeper level. While “Society” helps us ponder what Chris was feeling and thinking, we will never really know his true opinions of our baffling breed.

Dress like a teacher day

Genna as Dylan the gradfellow who always wears his golden helmet when he goes biking. The key is that there is this little earth flag on his helmet. Genna's said "I'm with hipster" :D 

Kaia as Nancy! Complete with the floral glasses and the white hair :)

Ana as Robert the science teacher. Robert always wears that exact type of sweater that Ana has on in addition to the fact that Robert works with the giant monarch butterfly project.Very clever Ana!

Russ was Phil DeLong today. He was full of puns which is what Phil is famous for. 

party time in the Don!

Carolyn!

Because the kitchen forgot to give Maeve her cake on time, she got pizza too!

Party time!

Hey there Ana and Kai! :D

We also got A LOT of milk!

Mattie!

Luke!

You tell 'em Luke!

Walton and Ellie and Samir digging in

Oh we also had cake...

Two of them in fact!

Mattie showing Maeve how it's done

HAPPY BELATED 16TH MAEVE

OH... and cookies too!

new poi accomplishments :D

There are very few weak spots in Kai's poi abilities. One of them is doing the reverse three beat weave (which I can do). And the other is turning counter clockwise out of the 3 beat weave into the windmill and then into the reverse 3 beat weave. I can do that now too! None of you guys probably know what I'm rambling about, but there it is. I was REALLY EXCITED. I thought I'd tell the world. I recommend that you youtube poi though! :D

10-28-12 I LOVE my Badgers!

Well I have't had a lot of wordy blogs, so here is one. It's been the first time that I have been able to really sit down and talk. Today was an absolutely gorgeous day filled with sunlight. You wanna know what I did all day? I did homework! Yes that's right I was on the computer all day. Sitting out in the wing with my badgers snacking, singing and doing homework. I been having frustration with the ALEKS math program that we have been working on. Needless to say it was a day full of dinosaur grumpy noises and lots of hair being pulled out. Ahhh well.. homework has to happen at some point right? The good part is coming up right... NOW!

After dinner Maia, Mattie, Michelle, Kaia and I went into the badger wing. I was water proofing my boots for extra security in the new icy weather, Maia was working on her college apps, Kaia was cutting Mattie's hair, and Michelle was working on her homework. After Kaia left, I hopped in the shower to the wonderful sounds of laughing and Jack Johnson. When I came out everyone was busy procrastinating. Maia decided to offer up some cheese and chub sausage by rolling over to the kitchenette in her chair. Mattie followed suit. Thus ensued rollie chair spinning and racing. Combine this with me laughing hysterically at who knows what while eating cheese+me rolling on the ground+Maia tossing chub around+me attempting to put VERY moldy cheese in the fridge+Mattie laughing at me and taking pictures. Life was good! :D We just needed an outlet for releasing our pent up energy! Enjoy the pictures! I may have a videos later! :D

First camera shots + Night At the Museum (Children's Museum volunteering 10-26-2012)

Some of he first pictures that I took when I got my camera back!

Story time with Maeve and Mattie

I enjoy the elegance of the black and white, but I wish that my camera could catch the true uniqueness of Mattie's eyes.

Mattie (a lion) and Dexter (just wanted to get his Renaissance on) on the way to the Children's Museum for volunteer work!  

Chillin' in here fleece 

Ella working on her different expressions.

MY CAMERA IS BACK! PICTURE TIME! :D

Hippiness

So when I first got here I realized immediately Conserve is a tad cultish. When most people think of cults they think of a group of people who do weird, shady activities and rituals (be it about religion or about literature). They shouldn't. Take a look at the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary:

a : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad

b : the object of such devotion

c : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion

While this is the 5th section of the definition it should be considered. We all share a common passion for the environment and we are in a rather small group. While I was looking at our opening ceremonies pictures it sure looks like a strange pow wow going on with lots of fire and pensive, dreamy expressions. Both things I quite enjoy, but it looks a bit like a ritual, which it kind of was!

Yesterday the "homecoming week" was announced. I have never ever heard of this. Apparently where you dress according to various themes leading up to a homecoming dance. Make very little sense to me, but OK. What ever floats your boat. Anyways, Friday is themed as "hippie day." Essentially we are already hippies. Well the people I typically hang out with are. We just don't dress stereotypically. Like:

a usually young person who rejects the mores of established society (as by dressing unconventionally or favoring communal living) and advocates a nonviolent ethic; broadly :a long-haired unconventionally dressed young person

But you have to admit. Our beliefs line up perfectly... so it's a bit funny how people are going "to be" hippies when they are already hippies. Does this sound like ranting and rambling? I'm going to bring this to a close.

PEACE

Ishmael

I recently started reading Ishmael, a book that is QUITE philosophical. As I read along in the book I realize that this is how Maeve's thought processes go. Those little conversations that she is always having with herself. Just thought Id put this little phrase that I read in the book out there. You can use it to wow your friends or you can say "you didn't know what that meant Mei-Jing?"

"Post hoc, ergo propter hoc."

(after this, therefore because of this) 

PS I am really enjoying the book, and I highly recommend  reading it! However, make sure that you can read large chunks of it at a time. 

10-25-12 morning storms

We have had some intense weather here at Conserve. It's been raining since last night. The thunder was constantly rumbling and the rain poured from the windows. I opened my window last night so Mattie and I could listen to all the wonderful sounds. I find that it's really peaceful to fall asleep to a storm/ rain.

This morning it was still lightening and rumbling, and there was a mist coming down. During classes the rain escalated to a downpour! Jessie is a really big weather geek, and so she started following the radar during math class. We apparently missed a "severe storm".... quite a disappointment for her. If we had been in Slyvania we would have been outta luck! The whole math class went to the window and we watched the rain come crashing down. There were also some pretty large chunks of hail! Arjen was amazed by the weather.

Off to watch the raindrops race across the windowpane :)
PEACE

Sepia Tone Lovers 10-24-12