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Marina rebounds with “Baby”, Love + Fear

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The Welsh artist formerly known as Marina and the Diamonds has taken a long hiatus from producing music for self-discovery. Marina said that “a lot of my identity was tied up in who I was as an artist,” which triggered her change in stage name. Now, she is ready to make her return to the music industry.

Her collaboration with Clean Bandit and Luis Fonsi, “Baby,” was released on November 8th, 2018. This was marked as her true return to music, even though at this time she revealed that her next album was in the works. The song is certified silver in the United Kingdom and has peaked at #13 on the United States Billboard. The song did peak #1 in countries like Mexico and Israel.

The style surrounding the single “Baby” is a different style for Marina, as this song is labeled as Latin pop, and her music is more indie. She perfectly executes the song while portraying the theme of the song: being with someone while you’re in love with someone else. This song is such a bop, and I hope to see Marina perform a wide variety of music styles in the future.

As continued with each of her albums so far, each album has a distinct sound to it, which separates it from each of her previous works. She has confirmed via Twitter post that the pattern will continue.

Her new single “Handmade Heaven” was released on February 8th, and it will headline her new album Love + Fear, set to come out April 26th. Marina has written her headlining solo as a solo author as well.

The song “Handmade Heaven” is an ethereal and hymnal like piece which outlines her imagination of paradise. Described as contemporary pop, I can definitely see how Marina was attempting to marginalize this album from her previous albums. The beginning of the song sounds very whimsical and spiritual (but not in a religious fashion). This song could be a possible metaphor for her self-discovery surrounding her stage personality change.

Marina did tease a snippet of the song “Orange Trees” from the album, and it shared a similar sound to “Handmade Heaven”.

The album Love + Fear will be released April 26th; the album and tour tickets are on pre-sale now.

Objectification in music fosters negative impact

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If you’ve ever listened to popular music stations, such as Z107.7 or Y98, you’ve probably come across one or two immensely questionable songs with a repelling meaning behind a fresh beat and powerful vocals. One of the more current examples is “Body Like a Back Road” sung by Sam Hunt. The explanation is simple: the song is literally comparing a woman’s body to driving on a back road. Objectifying and sexualizing women in music is so much more common than we think.

Sexual objectification “occurs when a woman’s body or body parts are singled out and separated from her as a person and she is viewed primarily as a physical object of male sexual desire,” according to the University of Tennessee’s Psychology department. Many people look past the meaning of lyrics in music and just sing along to the peppy beat. But do people really understand what they’re singing?

When looking at the top twenty-five songs on the Billboard 100 for the week of October 21, 2017, many songs contained lyrics about objectifying and/or sexualizing women (this applies to songs sung by women as well). Fifteen of the twenty-five songs contained lyrics that objectified and/or sexualized people of both genders, fourteen of these being women. Three of the songs that are objectifying others feature women singing, but all of the songs are primarily sung by men. The songs that exemplify objectification include “Shape of You,” “Slow Hands,” and “That’s What I Like,” all three receiving a fair amount of airplay.

This information presents a variety of concerns for society. First, the radio stations only censor so much from their songs, and according to the Federal Communications Commission, “Federal law prohibits obscene, indecent and profane content from being broadcast on the radio or TV.”

Even though certain songs are screened through the air, many people stream music through various services such as Spotify and Pandora. Through these services, anyone can listen to any song they want. This can present a concern from parents who wish to monitor their kids’ music choices.  It also presents a problem when younger siblings catch on to what their older siblings are listening. As the old saying goes, “monkey see, monkey do.” Older siblings and role models are not doing their onlookers any favors if they are constantly listening to obscene music with graphic themes.

It seems that no lyric is shocking anymore. Many songs listed on the top twenty-five talk about stealing a girl that’s already in a relationship or taking a girl home for a one-night stand. But now, so many songs use these vulgar themes that it just doesn’t seem shocking anymore. Our culture has become desensitized to the point where most don’t care what’s in their lyrics. Songwriters and musicians push the line further and further to bring a shock factor to their music. Musicians frequently use obscenities and so-called “wild factors” in their music to summon attention. When will the music industry synchronize with reality? When will our music treat people like they’re people?

Everyone has been so accustomed to listening to music surrounding sex culture that it isn’t such a “big deal” as it was twenty years ago. Most high-schoolers today have grown up either misunderstanding lyrics or neglecting the meaning of them altogether. This ignorance has grown over time, and now our entire culture is surrounded by an absurd facade of fun when it is really mistreating people and treating them like to objects to be used like they’re nothing.

Not all songs played on air contain repulsing messages, though. Number four on the Billboard 100 for the analyzed week was “1-800-273-8255,” sung by the rapper Logic and featuring singers Alessia Cara and Khalid. The song’s namesake is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number, and the song reaches out and, according to the lyric site Genius, Logic’s message in the song is that “suicide is never the answer to anyone’s problems.” So maybe music can have a positive impact on people as long as objective and sexual songs don’t cloud over the inspirational ones.

Why is prom so expensive? Commercialism around high school dances

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This year, prom will be held at Bogey Hills Country Club, and the change in venue comes with a change in price.

The price of a single ticket will jump from fifty dollars to eighty dollars, a thirty dollar price hike. Granted, the ticket includes admission to prom and a t-shirt, but for those paying for two tickets, the cost of tickets alone would be $160, comparable to the price of a dress, depending on your budget. So why is the cost of attending prom so expensive?

Last year at Old Hickory Golf Club, dancegoers were provided food and drinks, along with a golf cart shuttle service. Also to be taken into account is the rental of the photo booth, DJ, and the rental of Bogey Hills itself.

But the ticket itself is not even half the cost of the average prom. According to the 2017 Yahoo Prom Across America survey, the average cost of Midwestern students attending prom was $610, with students spending nearly $250 on their outfit.

Taking the dress cost average into account, and combining all of the beauty appointments, accessories, and pre-dance activities, the cost of prom this year for the average Fort Zumwalt North student could be upwards of almost five hundred dollars. It should be noted that some students spend way more or way less than the average cost, depending on personal preferences and budget.

Some students spend as little as $50 for a dress to wear to prom, whereas other students will spend hundreds of dollars to find the perfect dress.

It is possible to keep your prom budget low. Finding dress deals online, buying accessories on clearance, and driving yourself to prom are a few ideas to keep costs low.

Many students also sell their past prom dresses online, which could also be put forth to buying a new dress for the next event.

There are many ways to navigate around the commercialism surrounding prom, but it all depends on what you’re willing to put into your prom night.

Keat’s Diction and Love for Fanny Brawne

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WARNING: THIS IS NOT PUBLISHED FOR PLAGIARIZING PURPOSES. This was published in my portfolio because I worked really hard on this paper and I wanted to share with people my capabilities. This is no way intended for people to cheat. Thank you.

The renowned British poet John Keats was engaged to Fanny Brawne in his last few years of his life, which have also been recounted as the most productive years in his career. Living further apart, Keats and Brawne exchanged letters to communicate their thoughts and feelings to each other. The employment of affectionate, devout, and enviable diction in John Keats’s letters to Fanny Brawne reflect his slowly diminishing mentality and demonstrates his unwavering love for his courtship with Brawne.

Keats first employs affectionate diction in his first letter to Brawne, calling her  “a beautiful Girl whom I love so much” (page 3). In the opening of Keats’s first letter, he is already letting Brawne know that he loves her, which shows his affection. Also by capitalizing “Girl” (page 3) in the phrase, it implements how important Brawne is to him. In Keats’s fourth letter, he speaks of his jealousy of Brawne and how she may be seeing other men, but still signs his letter as “your ever affectionate” (page 14). This substantiates that Keats still loves Brawne, although he is quite jealous throughout his letter. By using an informal ending, it makes the letter more personal and more affectionate. At the end of Keats’s eighth letter, he states that his “love is selfish. I cannot breathe without you” (page 24). This furthers the fact that Keats loves Brawne, and wants to be affectionate towards her. Keats states in the same letter to Brawne that “I cannot exist without you” (page 23). This reinforces that Keats is undoubtedly in love with Brawne, and he intends to charm her with an oxymoron such as this. He is currently living without Brawne, but he assures Brawne that he cannot live without her. Keats is acting very admirable towards Brawne. This adds to his mental state because he is slightly going crazy without her.

Devout diction is utilized in Keats’s letters to Fanny to demonstrate his love for Brawne. In his eighth letter to Brawne, Keats explains that he is shocked that men would die for their religion, and further says “I could be martyr’d for my religion – Love is my religion – I could die for that. I could die for you” (page 24). Keats would be willing to die for his religion, which is his love for Brawne. He deploys a religious reference in this part of the letter to explain that her love is the one thing he yearns the most. His desire for Brawne demonstrates his commitment towards their relationship.He is becoming so enraptured in their relationship that it is causing him to be obsequious towards Brawne. He then later states that “My Creed is Love and you are it’s only tenet” (page 24). In this, Keats says he puts his faith in love, and Brawne is the center of his faith. This solidifies his devoutness towards Brawne by comparing his commitment towards her to a religious faith. Keats’s devotion and commitment to Brawne is also expedited through other means than religion. In Keats’s sixteenth letter to Brawne, he makes an analogy towards their engagement, comparing him and Brawne to the purple and blue shades in the ink. Keats states that “I did not know whether to say purple or blue so in the mixture of the thought wrote purplue which may be an excellent name for a colour made up of these two, and would suit well to start next spring” (page 33). This analogy between the ink and Keats’s engagement exhibits the level of commitment Keats is willing to give the relationship between Brawne and him.

Keats finally demonstrates enviable diction while confessing his love for Brawne. In Keats’s fourth letter to Brawne, he states that “I do not think myself a fright any more than I do Mr. A; Mr. B; and Mr. C. – yet if I were a woman I should not like A. B. C” (page 12). Keats knows that he has competitors, and he is not afraid of them. However, he advises to Brawne that she should not consider the likelihood of Keats’s competitors because he is jealous of them. Brawne should not seek love elsewhere because Keats would consider it intolerable. Another example established is in Keats’s thirty-fifth letter to Brawne, in which he states that Brawne should “not write to me if you have done anything this month which it would have pained me to have seen”  (page 58). Keats could not bear the jealousy he would face if Brawne did indeed do anything that would pain Keats. He would be hurt emotionally by Brawne’s actions, which would cause a great amount of envy. This envy would push Keats to a depressive state.

Keats demonstrates his unwavering love for Brawne in his letters by exhibiting admirable, devout, and enviable diction. His diction is also used to bring attention to his deteriorating mental state.

Flying Tones and Godly Symbols

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WARNING: THIS IS NOT PUBLISHED FOR PLAGIARIZING PURPOSES. This was published in my portfolio because I worked really hard on this paper and I wanted to share with people my capabilities. This is no way intended for people to cheat. Thank you.

Keats and Shelley have both written poems featuring birds in “Ode to a Nightingale” and “To a Skylark” respectively. Both authors wrote the poems about birds to convey a deeper meaning. Keats and Shelley both use symbolism and envious and irritated tones throughout the poem to convey that the bird is not actually a bird, but a God-like figure, albeit Shelley starts his poem praising the bird while Keats scorns it immediately.

Symbolism is used in both poems comparing the birds to an immortal spirit or God-like figure. Shelley first introduces the bird as a “blithe Spirit” (Shelley 1), and also says that “bird thou never wert” (Shelly 2), which means that the bird is not actually a bird at all. Keats introduces the bird as a “light-winged Dryad of the trees” (Keats 7). A Dryad of trees is a tree spirit or nymph in Greek mythology. Both authors also curse their birds or symbolic spirit. Shelley describes the bird as “singing hymns unbidden, till the world is wrought to sympathy with hopes and fears it heeded not” (Shelley 38-40). Shelley describes the bird’s singing as unwanted, and that it would sing until the world is worn down. This is brought in an irritated tone, because the birds is a spirit, thus it is immortal. Shelley curses the bird for being immortal because it is perfect. Keats also scorns the bird in “Ode to a Nightingale” at the end of the poem by calling the bird a “deceiving elf” (Keats 74). Calling the bird a lying sprite is very demeaning towards the bird.

Envious tones are used throughout both poems to exemplify the mortal envy they carry towards the immortal bird. Shelley envies the bird’s singing when he states the bird’s songs are “match’d with thine would be all but an empty vaunt, a thing wherein we feel there is some hidden want” (Shelley 68-70). By this, Shelley is saying that no mortal will ever be able to match the triumphant ability of the immortal bird, creating a jealousy and envy for said bird. Keats uses the same envious tones while saying “‘tis not through envy of thy happy lot, but being too happy in thine happiness” (Keats 5-6). Keats is stating that he is not envious of the happy bird itself, but of how abundantly happy the immortal bird is. This illustrates a mortal envy towards the immortal bird.

Shelley and Keats have their own different perceptions of the bird at the beginning of each poem. Shelley begins his poem as describing the bird as “the pale purple even” (Shelley 16) and “like a star of Heaven” (Shelley 18). Shelley utilized the use of purple in the poem to highlight the bird’s status and royalty, thus uplifting the spirit status. Shelley also compares the bird to a star of Heaven because the bird is a God-like figure, and spirits are stars of Heaven. Keats mentions that the bird carries a “melodious plot” (Keats 8), which means that the bird is producing a plot against Keats. This makes Keats immediately see a negative perception of the bird instead of an immediate positive one.

Shelley and Keats have both written poems about birds and relating them to God-like figures. Keats and Shelley both use symbolism, envious and irritated tones, and different perceptions of the bird to convey that the bird was a spirit.

Happiness: Humanity’s Greatest Flaw

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WARNING: THIS IS NOT PUBLISHED FOR PLAGIARIZING PURPOSES. This was published in my portfolio because I worked really hard on this paper and I wanted to share with people my capabilities. This is no way intended for people to cheat. Thank you.

Seasonal affective disorder, which is seasonal depression, affects nearly three million people every year. It comes during the colder months, and goes away during warmer months (SAD). People are generally happier during warmer months, because the sun is out and shining. The sun is inevitable, and it is seen everyday, whether one wants to or not. Happiness is like the sun: it is seen everywhere, whether you’re looking for it or not. To most people, happiness is essential for mental stability. Excessive amounts of happiness is potentially harmful, which makes it humanity’s greatest flaw.

Some studies show that too much exposure to happiness can lead to detrimental outcomes. According to studies by June Gruber from Yale University, “very high levels of positive feelings predict risk-taking behaviors, excess alcohol and drug consumption, binge eating, and may lead us to neglect threats” (Zaraska). Many of the aforementioned behaviors are frowned upon in today’s society. These behaviors are fueled by mindless happiness, and thus make you unhappy in the long run. Another study conducted by Joe Forgas, professor of psychology at the University of New South Wales in Australia, showed that “cheerful people are easier to deceive, couldn’t detect lies as easily as those in negative moods and couldn’t tell a thief from an honest person” (Zaraska). In other words, happier people are more naive to deceptive situations, and the results could be bad if not taken seriously. The horrendous results make it the greatest flaw.

Experts say that those who are always happy may become less happy over time. Harvard psychologist Susan David explains that “there is evidence that people who value happiness, people who are focused on being happy, and who set happiness as a goal for themselves actually become less happy over time” (Semnani). Even if someone maintained a happy mindset for a short period of time, they are less likely to keep it in the long haul. Happiness is inevitably making you less happy. David also mentions that she “believe[s] the strong cultural focus on happiness and thinking positively is actually making us less resilient” (Semnani). On the whole, being too happy will make someone less likely to withstand emotional trauma and bounce back to reality.

Many believe that depression may be a driving flaw of humanity. According to the American Family Physician Journal, “Depression negatively impacts growth and development, school performance, and peer or family relationships and may lead to suicide” (Bhatia). This may be seen as detrimental to growing up and maturing mentally, especially to adolescents. Causing catastrophic symptoms and side effects makes it seem that depression could be the greatest flaw. But depression, in light to severe cases, can be treated with “antidepressants, preferably in conjunction with cognitive behavior therapy, may be considered for severe depression” (Bhatia). Depression is treatable, but the outcomes of excessive exposure to happiness is not; for instance, the abuse of alcohol and drugs, binge eating (which can lead to obesity), and ignoring threats.

Happiness is an adversity to anyone who experiences it. It may seem like bliss while it is experience, but leads to prejudicial effects. Since there are much more detrimental outcomes to happiness than depression, it makes excessive exposure to happiness humanity’s greatest flaw.

Lucy Grealy: Her Own Parasite

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WARNING: THIS IS NOT PUBLISHED FOR PLAGIARIZING PURPOSES. This was published in my portfolio because I worked really hard on this paper and I wanted to share with people my capabilities. This is no way intended for people to cheat. Thank you.

Lucy Grealy suffered in more ways than one in her lifetime. Grealy experienced an Ewing’s sarcoma from an early age, died from a heroin overdose, and suffered from another cancer itself: her repugnant personality. Grealy’s noxious behavior has been feeding off of her like a parasite, making her an intolerable person. Her cancerous attitude has harmed the way she develops relationships with others. Grealy is portrayed as giving and lonely, but the real Lucy Grealy is whiny and cynical.

Grealy’s personality is whiny, as first portrayed by former roommate and author Ann Patchett. In Patchett’s book, Truth and Beauty, she outlines the toxic relationship between Patchett and Grealy. Patchett chronicles Grealy’s whiny behavior when describing how inconvenient Grealy’s life seemed: she felt lonely because her boyfriend ‘hated’ her, she had no money, and she was stuck in the friend zone with a different man. Patchett depicted Grealy’s complaints as loud and abiding, “but they were basically the complaints of every other woman I knew” (Patchett 52). The way that Patchett describes Grealy’s complaints makes the reader think that Grealy thinks she is special. This is obviously false, due to the fact that Grealy’s complaints are strikingly similar to any other woman Patchett knew. Another paradigm of Grealy’s whining and disagreeable attitude from Truth and Beauty is when Patchett started dating a poet, Mark. Grealy immediately gets jealous like a child. Patchett then goes on to explain that Grealy “called three or four times a day with the sole purpose of reminding” Patchett that although Grealy at the time was still her best friend, Patchett “was ruining her life” (Patchett 107). Calling anyone three or four times a day is excessive. Grealy’s ultimate motive to calling Patchett during this time period is most likely to get Patchett to break up with her poet boyfriend due to Grealy’s jealousy. Grealy is jealous of Mark because he was a poet, and she believed that there could only be one poet in Patchett’s life. Grealy’s whining about Patchett ruining her life is unjustified.

Lucy Grealy is also extremely cynical. In her autobiography, Autobiography of a Face, Grealy outlines her childhood with her malignancy. Grealy received letters from across the country, but she and her family would laugh with a “bitter, cynical air” and “mocked them out loud” (Grealy 98). From a young age, Grealy has been taught by her family that it was acceptable to be cynical towards others when they were trying to show sympathy for Grealy and her family. Grealy’s cynical behavior has obviously cumulated from a young age, with her family as the prime example. Grealy herself has also noticed her cynicism. In a letter to Patchett, Grealy says that she is “such a cynic most of the time” (Patchett 95). Patchett later states that Grealy had depicted cynicism as “a symptom of inflated ego” (Patchett 97). Grealy has openly stated herself that she is cynical, but she also said that it is a sign of feeling self-righteous. This validates that Grealy is cynical, but it also states that Grealy believes she has an inflated ego, in her own hypocritical words.

Grealy could be portrayed as giving by others. To Patchett, Grealy was her best friend. Patchett describes in Truth and Beauty the readings of one of Patchett’s books and Grealy’s autobiography. Grealy was hitting the height of her commercial success through her autobiography, while Patchett started nearly at rock bottom popularity wise. Their publicist combined their reading dates to gain publicity for Patchett’s book. Patchett depicts Grealy as lending her “the brilliance of her light in a moment when thing were looking decidedly dull” for Patchett (Patchett 139). But Patchett explains that they both had lent each other light over the years, “depending on which of us had more light to share” (Patchett 140). These are seen as simple gestures to each other, as is not seen as a mandatory move for Grealy. It was also suggested by the publicist, not Grealy.

Others have also attempted to justify Grealy’s actions because she was alone. Patchett delineates Grealy’s loneliness as “breathtaking in its enormity” (Patchett 171). Patchett went on to state that thousands had loved and adored Grealy throughout her life, especially when she rose to fame after her autobiography. Patchett claimed that all of her admirers were not “enough to take up every square inch of her loneliness” (Patchett 171). Although Grealy feels alone internally, in reality, she has thousands upon thousands of people supporting her as her backbone. There is simply no valid explanation for why Grealy feels alone.

Grealy is a parasite to herself. She continually tortures herself with her horrendous attitude and ulterior motives. Her irritable character is cancerous to herself and others, because it harms her relationships with others. Although Grealy is seen as giving and alone, in reality, Lucy Grealy is whiny and cynical.

Support the Fort at annual picnic

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The third annual Support the Fort picnic will be taking place on Friday, August 24th.

Mr. Tony Bertram is the secretary of the Fort Zumwalt Education Association.

“We’re throwing a picnic for every Zumwalt employee and their families,” Bertram said. “No matter whether a person is full time, part time, certified, paraprofessional, custodian, cook, bus driver, if they are a Zumwalt employee, they are invited.”

Hot dogs will be provided by the FZEA, but families should bring a dish to share. Electricity is provided, but the event will be held outside at a pavilion. Bringing your own beverages is allowed and encouraged, but no glass is allowed.

There will be activities in addition to food.

“We will be having tie-dye with us,” Bertram said. “They [employees] can bring their own white shirts, or we will also have FZEA t-shirts for sale.”

The event is sponsored by the Fort Zumwalt Education Association, an affiliate of the Missouri National Education Association.

The Support the Fort picnic will be held at Fort Zumwalt Park on 1000 Jessup Drive from 1pm until 7pm.

“We would love to see anybody and everybody associated with the Zumwalt family,” Bertram said.