Blogging off a Song- Bohemian Raphsody by Queen

Bohemian Raphsody by Queen - Stuck in a Small Box, All Alone

As a kid, I never listened to very much 'pop' music or anything that was fairly new. I mostly listened to what my parents listened to, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, etc. Queen has always been one of my favorite bands, and their song Bohemian Raphsody was one of my favorite songs. When I was younger, and probably still now, this song confused me. In one verse Mercury, the singer, would be singing about one thing and in the second verse he is singing about having killed someone, and I was never able to put it all together to really mean something. For this blog on a song, I chose Bohemian Raphsody because I knew it would be challeging to piece together, but I've always been under the impression that once I understood how I interpret it it would have a very powerful meaning.

I've read and reread the lyrics again and again and I believe that the song is about a person who is in this big scary world and feels completely lost and alone. I'm not exactly sure if it is meant to have a message, but I think that it may be that everyone is important and people must look for that in everyone.  The whole song gives off a general feeling of worthlessness where the speaker feels as though they are treated like nothing and people walk all over them. He is showing his anger and how much it hurts, which leaves me with the idea that everyone must be treated as equally special and important. For example, Mercury sings," So you think you can stop me and spit in my eye! So you think you can love me and leave me to die!" towards the end of the song. He then sings "Just gotta get out, just gotta get right out of here." I believe that this means he has been mistreated and suddenly is brought down to feeling worthless, and I believe the feeling of being trapped comes from the fact that he sees nowhere to go and starts yelling that he just has to get out, but doesn't seem to have anywhere he can go. Also, the line, "Bismillah! No! We will not let you go!" shows me that he feels stuck and held back by all the 'demons' around him. Bismillah means in the name of God, and the way this line is yelled conveys distress and anger.

In addition, the musical affects of this song actually show a lot of the feeling that is going on. For example, at the end of the first verse Mercury's voice fades out while singing 'doesn't really matter... me' putting no stress on the importance of his own opinion. Also, I think that it comes off as though no one is listening to him and there is just no point in trying. Later in the song, while singing an electric guitar comes on and he starts yelling and escalating the volume at which he sings for the lines "I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all!" and then for ,"So you think you can stop me and spit in my eye! So you think you can love me and leave me to die! Oh baby -- can't do this to me, baby!" Which makes me think he is getting incredibly angry and frustrated as the song progresses. Unlinke when reading a book, when listening to a song it's not just the text that helps me figure out the message and mood, but I also use the music and volume and things like that.

When I hear this song it really has an impact on me. I think that there are very few people who have never at least been in a situation where they feel trapped and alone, or like everyone is against them. I loved trying to get into this song just because there are so many things that feel random and strange yet when you put it all together make sense. In conclusion, I think that Bohemian Raphsody is about the idea of feeling alone and trapped, and how upsetting and confusing that is for people.

The History of Love: Waiting for Life to Start

The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss: Waiting for Life to Start

I am currently reading the book "The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss. The book follows the trail of a manuscript called "The History of Love." It is narrated by the man who wrote the book, and a young girl named Alma Singer. The author, Leo Gursky, is a Yiddish man who wrote the book in Yiddish and it was about a past girlfriend and he didn't intend for his book to be published or read. After having about 1,000 copies published in Spain the book dissapeared. It was found and read by Alma's father who then died of cancer and he never told anyone about the book. Years later a copy comes back into Alma's hands and the book begins to tie them all together. The book studies the relationships people have with one another whether it's love, loss, friendship, or they are family. In it almost every main character seems to feel like there is something missing in their lives and they are looking for something. i think that in this they are waiting to find that something, and be able to start or restart their lives.

Since Alma's father died she lives with her brother 'Bird' and her mother Charlotte in Brooklyn, and although they don't know it, near Leo Gursky. I have gotten the impression that Alma was really close to her dad and was torn when he passed away, even though she was only six. It was the same way with Alma's mother who often doesn't leave her bed and although it's been five years is still heartbroken and practically refuses to talk to other men, especially if she really likes them. I think that she is scared to lose another loved one and is waiting for her heart to heal and to move on. I think this is something she really, really wants to do, but has no idea how to do it. She is waiting for someone to come along and show her that she can go on. Also, I think that Alma is waiting to have a family again. She often seems to be really alone and it brings her down. She wants her mother to heal and for them to be a family so that she too can move on and they can be happy together. Until then I don't think Alma kind find the strength to move on and so she is waiting for her mother.

Leo Gursky is waiting for a new life to come through love. I think that he wants his life to begin, see's no way to make it really start for him, and yet is scared of death. He is running in circles away from death, yet not taking a moment to stop and live the last few years of his life. Leo and his friend Bruno have specials signals like tapping the radiator so that they hear the noise in each others apartments that are one floor apart, to make sure that neither of them are dead. Neither of them do very much and usually stay inside. They are both so afraid of death that they do not take a moment to live. Also, Leo always remembers his past love and when he does walk around the city, love is almost all he thinks of. Although he won't admit it at all, I think he is searching for someone to love. He waits to find someone to love, because i believe he thinks that it will fill him with a will to live and give him something to live for. For example, he had a son with a girlfriend who never knew him, although he always kept tabs on that son, until his son died. For a while after his son died he became antisocial and it hurt him. Leo relies on needing someone to love.

In conclusion, in "The History of Love" I think that most of the main characters, Alma Singer, Charlotte Singer, and Leo Gursky, and some other characters are simply waiting for their lives to truly begin, or begin again.

Nonfiction Post: "Sugar Wars"

"Sugar Wars": Mayor Bloombergs 'Ban on Soda'

Majerol, Veronica. "Sugar Wars." Upfront 17 Sept. 2012, 145 : 6-7
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1040714528/13BA6098859103DF35C/2?accountid=14875 

For this blog post I read the article 'Sugar Wars' by Veronica Majerol from the magazine Upfront. The article is about how in New York City, Mayor Bloomberg is taking action against the always rising obesity rates. He proposes that by no longer allowing private restaurants or places serving people food, like McDonalds, they no longer can serve sodas that are more than 16 ounces. Places like grocery stores would not have to follow this law. In the US, one in three adults in obese. In New York City, one in two adults are obese. Fast food chains now offer a 42 ounce soda. 42 ounces is about a liter and a half. They make the prices only slightly higher than those of the smaller drinks, which incentivises the costumer to just buy the larger one. Then they figure that because they have it, they may as well drink it, which plays a huge role in whats causing obesity.

I think that in the article the author supports Bloomberg's ban and is passionate about ending the obesity epidemic. I believe that throughout the article they were trying to make me, the reader, agree with them, and I definitely do agree with Majerol. She used many techniques and craft moves in her writing to convince the reader of what she believes. "The proposed ban is intended to help fight obesity, which has reached nationwide epidemic proportions. According to health agencies, more than one third of Americans are obese; in New York City, more than half of adults are either overweight or obese. High consumption of sugary drinks is linked to heart disease, diabetes, and long-term weight gain" says Majerol. Whether you agree or disagree with Bloombergs proposal, these facts are shocking! Majerol uses these statistics because it is apparent that they will be heard by both sides of the argument, and because they prove her point, they may convince many to feel the same way. The way she states facts plainly like this leaves no room for argument or opposition, which really proves her point.

In my opinion, I think that Bloomberg definitely should go through with the ban on sugary drinks. Basically these fast food restaurants are tricking the public. They know many people think it is smarter to buy what you can get more from, for the same or a similar price and the large size is so accessible. When companies add 50 cents to a drink thats much larger than the last size down, they're not trying to give you a great deal, they're trying to get money. When everyone uses the same logic, all those extra 50 cents add up, it can be a large amount of money. They are not concerned about your health, and are aware it will hurt you. I don't think people consider obesity dangerous, because the effects cannot necessarily be seen directly, yet they're HUGE. If these drinks are banned then they are no longer acessible and Americans aren't going to want to go to 'all the trouble' of finding a drink as big. Instead they'll just go for the smaller size, just because it's whats there. This way, even the people who do not car enough to make healthy choices, wind up being forced into making them.