Apples in Stereo

Another article I wrote for my school paper. Apparently they only wanted to publish one of my articles this week instead of both.

Apples in Stereo is back again with another album, “Travellers [sic] in Space and Time.” The alternative pop group delivers a time-machine experience. Some songs, like “Strange Solar System,” offer glimpses of the future with out-of-this world topics and tons of synthesizer and voice modulations. Others, like “Hey Elevator,” are a blast from the past, featuring upbeat disco rhythms and groovy moods. Although the cosmic sounds and lyrics in some of the songs can be just a bit too quirky, others are more down-to-earth with a style similar to a song from “The Brady Bunch” and “The Partridge Family” era. Each song incorporates a variety of interesting sounds, giving your ear an acoustic buffet. “Travellers in Space and Time” has the potential to soar to new heights in popularity and revive the musical styles of eras past while bringing to the stage some futuristic flair.

Raymond v. Raymond

So I wrote this article for my school's paper. However, since I was quoted as a source in another article, the paper ethically could not print my article.
So, why let a good thing go to waste? Here's my review of Usher's new album Raymond v. Raymond.

Usher’s latest album, “Raymond v Raymond,” features songs suitable for everything from dancing to kissing your honey to “Making Love (Into the Night).” The artist’s smooth voice does not disappoint as he croons his ballads about love or the loss of it. His songs feature strong R&B beats that vary in tempo as Usher shows yet again that he can speed it up and slow it down. “Raymond v Raymond” also shares the mic with other notable voices, such as Nicki Minaj, Ludacris, will.i.am, P. Diddy and T.I., all of whom seem to have lower voices than the album’s main man. Don’t let the weak first track, “Monstar”’s, out-of-place techno background tracking turn you off. The rest of the album does not fail to bring to your ears the easy to listen to, fun to groove to music of Usher that we all know and love.

RIP Chet

Crime never seemed real to me until it hit so close to home. I'd seen it in the movies, heard about it in the news and was even paranoid that it would happen to me, but it never seemed real, not really. My neighborhood is what I have in the past described as a "sleepy little town." Though on the outskirts of the third biggest city in the country, my neighborhood is usually quiet, and nothing that interesting ever happens. In recent years, we've had some suicides and a gang-related shooting, but major crimes are usually few and far between.

On March 29, 2010, crime became more real to me. The man who lives across the street from me was found stabbed to death. His body was found on a residential street about a mile from my home. He was stabbed to death and found near (or in?) his running car. The police have not released much more information, and I dare not post my speculations like others are doing on the comment section of news websites. My neighbor was so young and will be missed.

In today's post, I'd like to take a few moments to remember my neighbor.

I've known this man for more than five years. My parents guesstimate that he and his wife moved in when I was in seventh grade. Over the years, he became my sister and I's favorite neighbor.

My earliest memory of him was in my freshman or sophomore year of high school. As my mom was leaving to take me to school one morning, we found that my neighbor's car had gotten stuck in the snow outside our house. Although we had barely had any contact with him before, we thought we'd go play superwomen and give him a push. My neighbor, who was a man, felt bad having two women push, so he had my mom "drive" his car while he and I pushed. While my mom was freaking out about his fancy car sliding around in the snow with her in the driver's seat, I slipped in the snow and landed on my hands and knees while trying to push the car. My neighbor freaked out and was like, OMG ARE YOU OK? Haha, of course I was. My mom changed spots with my neighbor, and we got him out of the snow.

So, after that, I started seeing my neighbor more often. He'd always say hi to me and ask me about my life. Usually he'd make a joking comment, like asking me if I was on my way to a party at nine in the morning.

My sister and I found it absolutely hilarious that this neighbor was totally unhandy. As a young man, he should have been capable of mowing his own lawn and shoveling his own snow. Instead, my sister and I found it absolutely hilarious to find landscapers mowing his lawn, his father-in-law watering his lawn, and his wife shoveling his snow. Such incidents earned him the title of lazy in our house (jokingly, of course). It got to the point that my sister and I would give him standing ovations and cheer when he took in his own mail.

Recently, my mom, sister and I watched my neighbor do some gutter work. With the help of his father-in-law, he leaned a ladder against his house and started climbing toward the gutter. Having seen my dad do this hundreds of times, my mom exclaimed that the ladder was not tilted at the proper angle, and that he and the ladder would end up falling backwards. As we three onlookers were torn between recording an "America's Funniest Home Videos" moment or yelling out the window to him, his father-in-law told him to get down, flipped the ladder completely over (apparently it had been upside-down), and began to climb the ladder himself. This, of course, brought on the LOLs as we were amused by my neighbors lack of handyman skills.

The weird part is that I had just seen my neighbor a couple days before he died. We had waved to each other while he was leaving for work and me for school, which happened most mornings anyway. His death hasn't really hit me yet. I found out about the funeral hours after it had ended, so I didn't get my chance to say good-bye. Some days, I still expect to see him around. I just can't believe he's gone.

I hope the police crack the case and catch the person responsible. The sick people in this world hurt so many lives by ending the life of one.

RIP Chet, you will be missed.

Eternal rest grant unto him, o Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.

May saints and angels lead you on, escorting you where Chirst has gone.
Amen.

(Photo courtesy of legacy.com)