Cooped up? Schmooped up.

I feel really lame telling you about entertainment that has to do with being lazy. It’s almost summertime. I was talking to my friend Amanda, and I was like, “Amanda, what the heck am I going to write about this week?” and she said “Outside stuff. Being active. That sort of entertainment.”

Wow. How true.

Go outside the next chance you get. Tan. Swim (when the lakes are finally warm enough.) Run. Take pictures of the beautiful scenery, if you can find any these days. Go for a hike. Ride your bike. Take a walk to get some ice cream with your friends. Pick up trash on the side of the highway. Pick up skateboarding. Dress up as a ninja with your friends and go film a movie outside while you scare your neighbors and make sure to act as crazy as you can. Be a little kid again!

It makes me sad that a few years ago I was telling my mom, “See ya I’m gonna go play!” or trying to make an excuse for why my new jeans were so muddy. I used to build tree houses that I knew would fall down in a day, but it was the rush of it and the excitement of being outside in the sun and taking in everything around me that made me want to get up in the morning.

People wonder why there’s such a heightened state of depression in the world right now. It’s because there are way too many things that keep us indoors. We’re living in a time where we have to grasp what nature gives us and we need to feel reality in order to be happy. We’re losing ourselves in digital worlds and we forget what’s really important: the simple things.

Have a great summer.

-Kassandra



photo from channel4.com

Bored? Read.

I have been reading ever since I can remember. When I was little I was reading anything I could get my hands on, whether it was the comics from the newspaper, nutrition facts, or the labels on various household products. I always came home from school with books and they were the first things on my Christmas and Birthday wish list. I was a little geek. The thing is I’m proud that I like to read, because without that I wouldn’t have an efficient vocabulary and I wouldn’t have the drive to write. I thank my parents for putting me in workshops to better my skills, even when I was made fun of for it (not that I’ve ever cared that much.)

I think that people are losing sight of what reading actually is. It is the foundation of everything we know, along with writing. If you do not have the ability to at least somewhat comprehend something you are reading then you have basically nothing. Schools are indeed trying to get kids to want to read, but it’s not working. Television is taking over, and although the Internet has many sources for reading, kids aren’t using it as so unless they’re told to. I feel this is a problem.

Reading is entertainment. So isn’t going to the museum and so isn’t taking a walk and taking in what is around you. People are stuck in society right now. They aren’t grasping what is right in front of them. If I didn’t grow up reading I never would have wanted to read, because there are so many distractions.

Magazines are amazing. Books are wonderful. Articles, essays, poems… they’re all so special and the only way people are wanting to read is by being pushed to read for work and school and so forth. If you open up your mind and realize that reading and using your imagination is a form of entertainment, your vocabulary will expand greatly and everything will just seem so much easier.

You won’t feel empty when you don’t have the computer handy or the television on. You’ll be yearning to go home and finish that juicy chapter rather than beat that level in that video game. I’m sick of people complaining that they didn’t get taught the right way in English classes growing up and that’s why they stink at it in college. It’s not true because you should want it, and you need to want it. It’s an essential, and it kills two birds with one very valuable stone.


-Kassandra

Flautist, Flutist The Difference between Beer and Champagne

I started my musical career singing show tunes for the kindergarten kids at "Show and Tell" and recess. It wasn't until the fifth grade however, when I picked up my first instrument; the flute. I've been hooked ever since.

As I matured, my flute playing came along, and I got good enough to hold the first chair in the school band. Then I moved on the the Bangor Youth Symphony Orchestra and availed myself of any playing opportunity I could. I played in All State and took the Gold at several Solo & Ensemble competitions statewide. I was even accepted to attend the Boston Conservatory of Music just out of high school, but unfortunately couldn't swing the cost of tuition, even back then.

Many people never knew exactly what to call me; A Flautist or Flutist? To many, I'm sure it's a mundane argument like tomah-to or tomay-to. In my class and refinement I'd like to suggest the pronunciation is the difference between beer and champagne. I prefer champagne to beer so I prefer flautist.

Regardless of what you call me, I only wish I had stuck to my playing consistently. Who knew you wouldn't need to get to the stage of Carnegie Hall for an appreciative audience, especially in the day of YouTube, where I could post like Nina Perlove here.



The tone I produce is just as rich (if I may say so) and my Selmer Omega Flute is open-holed and has a gold mouthpiece. However, the reality is, my fingers are not as limber any more and I don't play for hours a day like I once did. Nina would blow me right off the map, but with a little more consistent practice on my part, I'd be willing to play duets with her!

by Susan Pattten

Time for Cool Sounds

It really is cool! (Does any one use that word any more?) My love for music and the outdoors come together in the City of Bangor when the concert series "Cool Sounds" ramps up in June. What makes it even more cool is the cost; free!

The "Cool Sounds" concert series kicks off this year on Thursday, June 12th with the Flash in the Pans steel drum show. The concerts are held in Pickering Square in downtown Bangor and never fear if it rains because they'll take it all into the parking garage if necessary. The concerts will feature Blues, Jazz, Rock and more and they wrap up on July 31st, with the Queen City Big Band.

I'm "jazzed" and ready to kick off the summer with some great live music that I can take my young daughter to, without worrying about protecting her from stumbling dunks. Her next life lesson is avoiding men with two left feet on the dance floor.

by Susan Patten

Worship Not These False Idols

Posted By Seth Davis

Yeah that's right, the Bible. I've been coming down from the mountain these last few months and trying to give the commandments of music, metal and entertainment to my vast readership, and now I challenge you all to renege on one of the most popular shows in American history – American Idol.

I say step away, from that false devil. Backing me up is a fellow blogger, Bob Lefsetz from Yahoo Music.com who wrote an article that upset a few Kelly Clarkson fans.

The classic rockers were built on their own material. There were no song doctors. It was directly from their heart to yours. And this has delivered audiences in some cases 40 years after their debut. If you're just singing someone else's song, you're driving the BMW. Someone else can get inside and take the wheel instantly.

If you read his entire post, his point is that American Idol may be good entertainment, but it is not good music. That most of the sales are from popularity than any talent.

I agree and go even further. I feel that American Idol is hampering the growth of new music and furthering the belief that image is more important than quality. That releasing a single you didn't even write yourself and getting it on Itunes is some how more important than a well written album. To me nothing is better than a good band or artist pushing the boundaries of their art.

We live in a society where films mocking other films make millions of dollars. Where remakes turn into prequels and then sequels. Where teen pop star, Hannah Montana portrays herself as “normal”, despite making more money than Britney Spears.

False idols. I am not asking anyone to erase everything on their ipod, or destroy every cd they own. I am simply saying, next time you are looking for some new music, why don’t you try something new.

As always I will provide a few videos to leave my fans with. Artists new and old that I'm sure the "judges" of American Idol would find some fault with.

Bob Dylan - House of The Rising Sun

Tom Waits - Hold On

Army of the Pharaohs - Dump the Clip (Some Swearing)

*Thanks to MSNBC.com for the picture and YouTube for all the diverse tunage.

Iron Maiden

O God of earth and altar
Bow down and hear our cry
Our earthly rulers falter
Our peolple drift and die
The walls of gold entombe us
The swords of scorn divide
Take not thy thunder from us
But take away our pride
(g. k. chesterton: english hymnal)

Iron Maiden Revelations (live 2006)


Iron Maiden has been carrying the torch of heavy metal for over twenty years. I still remember the day I saw their video playing on MTV. Yes, on TV. It was late at night on Head Bangers Ball. It was an odd show that would mix the thrash of Testament and the hair of Bon Jovi. Yet on came a video of their legendary performance at Castle Donington in England in 1988 in front of over 70,000 fans for the Monsters of Rock festival. The bass line had me hooked. They were different.

It wasn’t what they looked like or what clothes they wore; no to my sophisticated teen mind I knew that this was metal.

They had a classic singer in Bruce Dickinson who had and still has an energetic stage presence and could sing with ease. The leader, bassist and head song writer Steve Harris has taken the band through many different eras and over eighteen albums.

They have never had a top radio hit in the U.S., something the band almost embraces as most of their songs are too long for radio play. However they have sold over 50 million albums in twenty three years and just recently played to over 300,000 fans in Brazil. Yet beyond longevity they can be considered one of the most influential bands in music influencing an entire generation of metal. They have won awards, been inducted into halls of fame, and are respected in all circles of music. I leave with the video that hooked me.

For more information visit Ironmaiden.com

*Picture of band from Wikipedia.com

Posted by Seth Davis

The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Sweeney Todd is one of those movies ... like Transformers, Titanic, King Kong or Spiderman ... it's a lot of pressure to have on you as a director because you aren't allowed to screw up these kinds of movies. Epic movies. Famous plots. Historic events. So when I heard that Sweeney Todd was being filmed, I was a little nervous. How are they going to pull this off? But when I learned it was Tim Burton directing, I thought, "Perfect." Then when I saw it was Johnny Depp playing Sweeney Todd I knew it would be one I'd have to see. And nobody could have played it like him.

Let me give you a little backstory. Sweeney Todd is set in London, the story of a barber named Benjamin Barker. When the evil judge falls for his wife, he casts Barker from London in order to have his wife and daughter for his own. Now back for revenge, Barker disguises himself under the name Sweeney Todd and re-opens his barber shop with intentions of luring those responsible for his exile to his establishment for a shave, only to slit their throats in the barber chair.

He befriends Mrs. Lovett (a part perfectly played by Burton's wife) whose pie business is failing. It just so happens that her business is below Todd's barber shop. After Todd's first killing, the idea strikes to use the meat from the bodies as meat in Mrs. Lovett's pies. Her business will be back up and running again and there will be no way to trace the killings.

I know. A gruesome story. And oh, the blood. Oh, the squirting blood. I'm not a fan of blood, but when I knew it was coming, I would peek through my fingers which I clasped over my eyes. After all, its quicker to close up a small peep-hole in your fingers than try to blink at the swinging of a barber's blade.

My brother, convincing me to watch the flick regardless of the gore, assured me I would be laughing by the third kill. I didn't believe him. But he was right. Something about the scene - Sweeney Todd singing a sweet lovely tune, slitting throats and pushing the pedal on his chair to open the floor and slide the body below where Mrs. Lovett would make her meat pies.

Weird. Twisted. I know. But it's an interesting story of revenge and love and there are even a few surprises at the end. I won't tell you, because I don't want to expose the secrets if you haven't already watched it.

Watching this movie was a big step for me. I'm not into movies with lots of blood. Not my style. But give it a shot. Just make sure you watch something happy afterwards or at least before bed because Depp gives an unforgettable performance - one that might carry over into nightmares!

Jillian

Juno

Reading the back cover of the DVD case as I finally sat down to watch Juno, I became a little skeptical of what I was going to see. A teenage girl gets pregnant and searches for the best family to adopt the baby. I wasn't in the mood for a touchy-feely sort of comedy. I was in the mood for laughs.

After the second scene in the movie, I was already laughing. Ellen Page, the young actress playing the part of pregnant 16 year-old Juno, gave a wonderful performance. All of the smart and quirky comments of hers are what made me laugh. It wasn't just her mannerisms, though, it was her delivery. You'll see a few examples in the trailer.



I enjoy Hollywood's recent "honest streak" in creating films where the "life struggle" isn't just getting pregnant. It's also about family, love and the ability to hope for the good in all of those things despite experiences in the past.

"Knocked Up" was brutally honest. So honest that you got a nice medium shot of the baby crowning. And while Juno steers clear of being quite so graphic, there is real material that tells a real story.

Funny. Quirky. Sweet. Watch it.

Jillian

Just Listen

There are tons of ways to find out about music. Swap a CD with someone you know has different tastes than you do, then listen to it in its entirety. Ask a friend when the next local show they're going to is, then tag along.

That's not all. You can go on Myspace and on the Music page, click on a genre you like, or one that you don’t even know. Browse the artists and listen to their songs. Read about them. Go to Google and type in the search engine, “New music 2008,” if you don’t usually listen to mainstream stuff.

Go on your AIM if you have one and look at people’s away messages and profiles and if there’s a good quote, there’s a great chance that it’s from a good song. (You won’t be considered a creep, believe me. It’s flattering.) If you like the lyrics, you’ll most likely love the song, so Google it.

Boomp3 is a good way to discover music.

So isn’t Pandora, where you type in something you like and it gives you something similar that you probably haven’t heard before.

This is just a little advice to be truly happy in life, because it doesn’t just go for music. Live it. Your mother didn’t advise you to try all foods once for no reason. People don’t realize how easily it is to get wrapped up in one’s self, and music is one of the biggest ways to be stubborn and simple minded. I have met so many people who think they have the greatest taste in music, but they only like one thing. Their whole play-list and their entire CD collection is the same song over and over again. They do not have a good taste in music because they only have one taste, and in my opinion that’s boring as hell.

There are so, so many more ways to find out about different stuff. Seriously, I am sick and tired of people claiming diversity when there’s nothing diverse about what they listen to. You can argue and say some people just don’t like certain sounds. This is true, but make sure you actually don’t like the other stuff before you knock it.

-Kassandra Small


Photo from UniqueEvents.com

Daffy Daffodils

You all know I love flowers and one of my favorites, without a doubt, is a daffodil. It's one of the first flowers of spring, it's bright and wonderfully fragrant. Now that being said, I do believe that some people simply take things too far. My case in point, Nantucket, Massachusetts, home of the Daffy Hat contest.

It's all part of their Annual Daffodil Festival which is coming up this weekend. The weekend activities include a Daffodil Tailgate Picnic, Daffodil Dog show and the ever popular, Daffy Hat Pageant. As much as I love Daffodils, I would not be caught dead in a Daffy Daffodil Hat. It really has nothing to do with my self-pride as much as it is about protecting myself from bees!

If you have nothing to do this weekend, you might consider a road trip with friends. This undoubtedly would have to be a festival to witness in person to adequately relay how much fun is had by all attending. Checkout www.nantucketchamber.org

By Susan Patten

photo compliments of the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce