Windows 7 and Mac OS X side by side.

I've recently been given the opportunity to really test out a Mac and compare it to my Windows 7 PC and here are a few things I found.

My First Impression:
Wow this is hideous. I'm not one to really care about how an operating system looks as long as it works well, however, over the past few years, I've become more and more comfortable with my Windows Vista/Windows 7 look. The transparent windows and stunning Visual effects have really gained on me over time.

Features:

The Dock/Superbar
In past versions of Windows, Mac has certainly one-upped Windows with the Dock,however with the "Superbar" in Windows 7 (which may have been an idea stolen from Mac) Microsoft now has a chance in this race. It wasn't long ago when I left my Facebook up in an Apple store and was quite surprised to see my status when I got home. I feel that I may have left it up because that window looked like nothing more than another icon on the dock. I imagine that this is something that Mac-users get use to, however, I MUCH prefer the Windows 7 method of organizing open windows and icons. If a window on the taskbar is open, it has a luminescent box around it. If a window is open on a Mac's dock, it looks just like every other icon.

Finder/Indexing

One of my favorite things in Windows Vista/7 has been the incorporation of indexing into the start menu. This was another thing that was claimed to be stolen from Mac, however, I feel that that is a total lie. I have always been amazed with the search results found in the Windows start menu (like typing scarlet and finding every picture of my mom), however, I was overwhelmed with the search results I found in the search function in the top right corner of a Mac. It started out telling me a definition of the word for which I searched, then split all of the files into different categories by file types (which is also done in Windows). The only real thing that makes Mac's finder better, is the definition, however, that is one thing that isn't found in Windows, and small improvements like that really add up.

Dashboard Widgets/ Desktop Gadgets

Another thing claimed to be stolen from Mac (you may here me referring to that a lot in this article) is the incorporation of gadgets in windows. Gadgets are found on the desktop on Windows, and Widgets are found in the Dashboard on Mac. I find that it is much more convenient to have these tools on the desktop so that you can just minimize a window and get to them all. Plus, it's really convenient to be able to use a window and a gadget hand-in-hand, which can't be done in a Mac because you have to open the Dashboard, not just drag a winow beside the gadget like you can in Windows. Plus, a recent improvement in Windows 7 allows you to view all of your gadgets without even going to the desktop or opening something new. You do this by just hovering your mouse above the lower left-hand corner of the screen, which allows you to peek at all of your gadgets, which I find really useful, because I have an RSS, Twitter, and Facebook gadget on my desktop, and would like to see if anything catches my interest without minimizing any window. There are, however, less gadgets to choose from and download in Windows Vista/7 than there are in Mac.

One thing that I would never be able to get use to is the lack of third-party application support. I have so many third-party programs on my computer that if I removed them all, it would probably clean up about half of my hard drive. This is one thing that Apple will neverbe able to measure up on. I also would like to be able to replace a piece of hardware with whatever I want. Not necessarily something made by Apple.

As for Viruses, I pretty much have no comment. If there were NEAR as many mac-users as PC users, there would probably be more people to generate viruses (though I don't have an eye to see into alternate realities). Also, I don't get viruses, and I use a PC. Microsoft Security Essentials has really come through for me, and it is made by the "dreaded" Microsoft.

I use a Dell Studio 1555 with 4 gb of RAM, 2.1 gHz processor, a high definition graphics card, and 320gb of hard drive space. I'm fairly certain that my PC will run just as fast as any Mac out there once it starts up. If I decide I want to go out and spend a few thousand dollars on a PC, it will more than likely startup just as fast, if not faster, than a Mac, and it will probably zoom through everyday tasks.

As for features, Mac and PC are just about tied in the race, however, one thing that will always keep me on a PC is the simplicity of EVERYTHING. Mac has nice hand gesture capabilities, however with the help of third-party software, I have the same gestures on my computer. Aero features (snap, shake, peak, and flip 3-d) are now a necessity for my daily computing. I now use them on a daily basis. Any feature that is on a Mac, can be added in about 10 minutes by downloading on a PC. You can't say the same for a Mac because of the poor third-party software support.

Please pardon the bad grammar and the random capitalizations. I have no clue if features should be capitalized, so some are and some aren't. Also, I'm tired, so things aren't really flowing well right now.. Thanks for reading!

Thoughts on Windows 7

I got Windows 7 today in the mail, and must say, it is a MAJOR improvement over Vista. I loved Vista as an operating system. Everything worked fine for me, but it wasn't until I saw the conveniences in 7 that I realized how much quicker everyday tasks could have been.

Installation

The upgrade from Windows Vista was wonderful. It was very simple: Insert disk, press install, choose upgrade, press enter. It took approximately two hours to complete the upgrade, however, it was very simple. The second my computer restarted after the installation, everything was wonderful. Everything on my computer is now quick and responsive.

Problems

I was having a wonderful time playing with and testing my new operating system until I tried to print something. An error message appeared on the screen stating that my computer could not communicate with the printer. I thought nothing of it and decided to try plugging the printer into the computer (as opposed to Wi-Fi printing). I began to worry when it still could not communicate with the printer. I went to the Lexmark website to inquire about a new driver. There was a driver for my printer for Windows 7, so I downloaded and installed it. After installing the driver, my computer still could not communicate with the printer. I am now without a printer until I figure out how to get it to work.

Great new features

It took me about twenty minutes to get use to the new task bar, but I must say, it is a HUGE improvement. I multitask quite a bit, and the new task bar makes multitasking quite easy. Also, I love Windows snap (Resizes a window to consume exactly half of the screen). When I heard of this feature, I didn't think I would use it much, however, i've used it three times already today. It makes dragging and dropping from one window to another very easy. I also have come to love the new Jump Lists (allows you to automatically open the files/websites you use most with certain programs). It's made using Internet Explorer and Microsoft Word very easy to use. I also like Aero Peek which causes all of your windows to disappear (except for their outlines) so that you can see your desktop and gadgets. This is particularly helpful to me because I have Twitter and Facebook gadgets and I no longer have to minimize all of my open windows to see these gadgets. Also, I've always loved the thumbnail previews in Vista that you get just by hovering over the icon on the taskbar. Now, I love that you can close out of a program just right from that thumbnail, and how hovering over a thumbnail shows you a full size preview of that window while causing the other windows to disappear except for their outlines. I also like that every tab in Internet Explorer is shown as a separate thumbnail, so that when you maximize Internet Explorer, you can go straight to the tab you want.

New Visual Effects

Most people don't really care about visual effects in an operating system, however I am a bit OCD when it comes to bad looking OS's, which is why I absolutely hated the Vista Basic look. That look does appear in Windows 7 as well, however I refuse to enable that theme. One thing that always bothered me about Vista is when you maximize a window, all of the things that were transparent become opaque. I love the transparent windows and taskbar and would therefore keep my windows from consuming the entire screen. In Windows 7, the windows and taskbar remain transparent even when the window is maximized. I love the new method for applying themes and backgrounds as well. Slide shows of pics is really what Windows has been missing when it comes to backgrounds.

Untested Features

I have not yet had the opportunity to test out Homegroups, however, to my understanding it is quite amazing what you can do. The demonstration of it at the Windows 7 New York launch showed it's amazing media sharing capabilities.

Overall

I love updates. They fix most things that go wrong with computers, and just makes things work. If anything this is just an amazing upgrade: what Vista should have been. Though I had no problems with Vista, this really shows me what Microsoft is capable of, and that Vista may have really been a mess-up, though I never thought of it as one.

Windows 7 Desktop

Aero Peek

Internet Explorer Jumplist

Thumbnail Previews in Internet Explorer. Hovering above the Youtube tab shows a full size preview while clearing away the other open windows.

Noron 360 Makes Security on a PC as Simple as it is on a Mac

When I purchased my computer back in August, I decided to check the box next to "Include Norton 360 with my purchase." I did this because I had no prior plans for security. Little did I know that this would be the best security software I've ever used. Since I got my computer, I have only done one manual virus scan, and my computer hasn't been slowed down by any others. This is because Norton detects when you are not at your computer (or not pressing any keys or touching the mouse and begins what they call an Idle scan. This scan checks your entire system for viruses and spyware and immediately stops this scan when you touch the mouse or press a key. When you are considered idle again (after 10 minutes) the scan starts from where it left off and continues to scan your system. This is by far the best technique for virus scanning that I have ever come across. I no longer worry about performing virus or spyware scans or doing backups because it does that automatically as well (asuming you have a wifi-enabled external hard drive). Also, if you use Internet Explorer or Firefox, there are built in search tools that give you security information about a website before you click on it. The check in the picture indicates a secure website. Another thing it does is it detects when a website is asking for your credit card number, and so that the website cannot record keystrokes, it will automatically enter it for you.

Norton 360 is available for all versions of Windows and Mac (because, believe it or not, Macs get viruses). It can be found at norton360online.com

Who says you can't just open a new PC and get to work?

Many of you have probably seen commercials or other advertisements claiming that the Mac is much easier to get started than the PC. Here's an example of these ads:

Apple is claiming that you can't do things straight from the box, but why would a PC manufacturer ship a PC without updated drivers? Also, Windows comes with many applications to get started. Here's a list of a few:

Windows Media Player--Play music

Windows Mail--Send/Receive and organize e-mail

Windows Movie Maker-- Create home movies

Windows Contacts-- Organize Contacts

Calculator-- Vista comes with Scientific and Standard, 7 comes with others to expand calculation possibilities

Windows Photo Gallery- import, organize, and edit pictures and videos.

Windows DVD Maker- Create DVDs

Windows Media Center- Allows to view pictures and videos, and listen to music. Also allows you to get live tv on your PC

Windows Meeting Space-- Allows you to easily share documents with anyone anywhere.

Notepad and Word Pad-- Assuming you only have basic word processing needs, these programs will be quite sufficient for all tasks. Windows 7 will also ship with Microsoft Office Starter which is comparable to Microsoft Works.

Microsoft Paint-- Allows for picture editing and virtual "painting"

Many games-- (Chess Titans, Freecell, Hearts, Inkball, Mahjong Titans, Minesweeper, Purple Place, Solitaire, and Spider Solitaire)

Internet Explorer-- Allows you to surf the web, connect with friends, and expand the possibilities of your computer by downloading third party software (Which is less available for Mac.)

The only thing you have to do before using any of this is insert a username for your computer and an optional password. This will take a total of less than two minutes. My point is, when you first get your PC, your possibilities are endless.

Band Blows Crowd Away With All That Jazz

They line up one by one. A rippling wave goes through the stomachs of all members. The hundreds of spectators seem to have silenced. They’re in this spot for one reason: the gratification of a successful half-time show.

At the football game against Aiken High School, the band debuted their Latin jazz marching show. This shows features songs by Chuck Mangione, Barry Manilow, and Santana. Though these artists aren’t on the typical high school student’s iPod, junior Eric Danko believes the selection of music is well chosen.

“The band was very well-practiced and played some great works,” Eric said, “They performed very well.”

The band spent two weeks before school started to begin memorizing their music. They worked for approximately six hours per day learning this new style.

“Musically, the show is a major style change from what I’ve done in previous years,” band director Monte Blackwell said. “This particular collection of songs is very well arranged and written for marching band.”

Though this style of music has never been performed by the band, band students, such as senior Caleb Morris, have taken a liking to the new style.

“This year’s show is one of the best we’ve ever done,” Caleb said.

At the football game against Aiken High, the band performed two of their four half-time show songs and seven stands tunes.

“The band’s performance at the first game was as I expected: a good first performance,” Mr. Blackwell said. “The field show and the stands music will constantly and consistently improve as the season progresses.”

One of the band’s major concerns, on the field and in the stands, is to induce team spirit. Sophomore Danielle Smith even thinks that the band has somewhat of an effect on the football players’ performance on the field.

“I think it’s like a chain reaction,” Danielle said. “The band pumps up the crowd, the crowd pumps up the team.”

Other students, such as junior Lauren Pearson, believe that the band doesn’t have an effect on the football team, however, they do a great job of cheering up the crowd.

“Whenever a tune caught my ear, I started dancing with my friends in the student section,” Lauren said.

Another reason the band is there is to, of course, entertain the crowd. According to freshman band student Kylie Taylor, that means the band is doing their job.

“The band is there to get the crowd excited enough to cheer for the team,” Kylie said. “We bring the party to the football games!”

What's going on?

Hello to the many or few viewers I actually have out there! So, you may or may not be wondering why I haven't posted anything in a while, and it's because of my laborious school schedule:

AP United States History

Keyboarding

English III Honors

Chemistry II Honors

Pre-Calculus Honors

Newspaper

Band

So, I will be continuing to post things, however these things will be things that I am required to write for Newspaper. The name of our newspaper is Hoofbeats. This is because our mascot is the Thoroughbreds. You may find the articles that I post of better content because every article that goes into our newspaper is edited by eleven different people and revised many times. This past weekend, I attended a Journalism class at the University of South Carolina which taught me many things about the "new" style of journalism. It is believed that the "old" style of journalism is causing people to stop read the newspaper because it's boring. The first article I will post is written in the "old" style, however, I am currently in the process of writing my first "new" article.

Windows Live Writer

This is the very first blog post that is being written from Windows Live Writer, a program by Windows Live that allows you to edit blog posts. Windows Live Writer allows a person to edit and create new blog posts with ease right from his or her desktop. It’s quite easy to type, edit fonts, insert pictures, and arrange objects around your blog posts. When you get the chance, check it out! get.live.com

Ideas for Internet Explorer 9

Microsoft Office Live Workspace

Web Storage Simplicity

By Charles Woodward

Microsoft Office Live Workspace is yet another tool to simplify the lives of Windows Live’s users. It is built to accompany Microsoft Office by allowing the user to completely skip saving information to the hard drive, and immediately upload for later use. In fact, one of the ways to create one of these documents is to go to the Office Live website (http://www.officelive.com/) and click “Get Started FREE.” This will either send you to a page allowing you to sign in, or it will send you straight to a page known as your “Documents” Workspace. From this page you can create other workspaces to which you will add files later, or you can simply upload all for your files, without organizing them, straight to your Documents folder. I created a folder for my 2009-2010 School year. To create a Workspace, simply click “Create a workspace now.” To add documents previously saved on your hard drive, click “Add Documents.” Everything in this service (And all other Windows Live Services) is very simple. The “New” is probably the most useful option on this page. Choosing new will allow you to create a new note, List, Task, Task List, Contact List, Event List, Word Document, Excel Document, Powerpoint Presentation, and Folder, all of which you can do online except the Word Document, Excel Document, and Powerpoint Presentation. Clicking on either of these three will launch a set-up for an add-on to Microsoft Office. After you go through the setup, go back to your workspace and press New then either of the three Microsoft Office Applications, at which point you will be able to create a new Word Document, Excel Document, or Powerpoint Presentation, without saving to your hard drive, enabling you to access these files from any computer with internet. Another way to save files to Office Live Workspace is go to the website and sign in. After that, go to your document, and after you've installed the add-on, click on the Office Menu in the top left corner, then click "Save to Office Live, at which point you will choose a Workspace, and your document will be immediately uploaded.

Microsoft Fever

What is the last thing you heard about Microsoft? Whatever it was, there is a good chance it wasn't praising the company. Well, I have a change for you. Microsoft's recent updates (Service Pack 2) have brought to light the wonder that Microsoft is. When Vista first came out I may have been the only person that had no problems. I loved Vista from the start. Then Service Pack 1 came out, and it made the operating system even better. Finally, a couple weeks ago, the second service pack came out and was not aimed at my needs. It offered upgrades to the RSS feeds sidebar gadget, which I don't use. It also allows you to burn information onto blue ray discs, which I'm not currently interested in. It gives you better performance from your wireless internet when exiting sleep mode, which I didn't have a problem with before. It gives you the latest bluetooth technology, which I don't need. One thing about this major upgrade that I enjoyed was the incredible performance boost. Everything is so much faster, include boot-up time. Another major improvement is the enhanced power management. I have never been impressed with any Windows-running machine in terms of battery life, however, your computer can now run for a little bit longer.

I am going to go ahead and say something that many kids will disagree with. Summer sucks. I absolutely love the first month of it, then the second month, everything slows down. To cope with the slow-moving summer, I decided to make a list of preffered applications. I started with internet browsers. I tested every browser on a scale that ascended to 100. I tested them on ten different factors: Speed, Performance, Add-ons, Visual Effects, Video, Audio, Simplicity, convenience, layout, and security. I spent about ten minutes with each browser testing these factors. The browsers I tested were Firefox 3.5, Internet Explorer 8, Google Chrome, Flock, Opera, and Safari. Each factor was worth ten points. The highest scored was surprisingly Opera. Opera's score was 83 out of 100. I soon discovered that the ten minutes that I devoted to this browser wasn't nearly enough time to recognize it's flaws, especially in Facebook. The second on the list was Internet Explorer 8 which came in at an 81. I spent some time getting better aquainted with this browser, and have come to love it. The visual effects (I'm a sucker for eye candy) are amazing. The speed is incredible, but most of all the simplicity and convenience are the best. I love the accelerators which allow you to instantly blog, email, translate, and share anything on a page with Facebook. I also tested out media players. I tested Windows Media Player, Zune, iTunes, and Songbird. I tested each for speed, performance, quality, simplicity, and visual effects. Zune came in first with a 95. This was the best score of any application type that I tested. Another good thing about this media player is that in the Marketplace, every song is twenty cents less expensive than in iTunes, and unlike the information that many misinformed people preach, you don't just rent the music. You purchase it, unless you have a Zune Pass, in which case, you actually do rent it, which is kind of retarded. I especially love the display it will give you if you click on the album picture beside the song status. This brings up a screen giving you an amazing slideshow and a biography of the artist. It also give you interesting facts about the song and album, such as the number of times the song has been played, or the number of albums sold. While I'm not too big on the Zune MP3 Player, I love the Zune Software.

Other than IE 8 and Zune, Microsoft has also done other great things. Windows Live has branched into a wonderful system, offering excellent email service and up to 25gb of information to back up your computer online free. If you have multiply email addresses, like myself, you can manage them all from Hotmail (or Live). I currently manage two Gmail accounts and one Hotmail account all from my inbox.

With the release of Windows 7 just a few months away, Microsoft will probably grow into an even better organization simplifying everyday tasks, and bringing what was thought to only exist in imagination to the real world.

Drowning in the Annoyance of Chowder

Repetition: the very word what describes what most of us consider annoying. Think of how you acted when you were a kid. I was adventurous, red-necked, and slightly annoying. I explored the woods around my house all the time. From these adventures I found many things such as skulls from deer and other things that I considered to be amazing. I built club houses out of used varnish cans and even shaped a coke bottle to be the perfect urinal for the restroom. I only used it once. I was occasionally annoying, as every young kid is. When a kid is annoying it is mainly because he or she gets slight amusement out of others' reactions, however I feel that things are changing. Kids are not only finding amusement out of other people being annoyed, but they seem to strive on that feeling. Just as all the others speaking of changes in behavior, I can only find one thing to blame: the media. The following video is made by a person on Youtube who is a fan of a show on Cartoon Network known as Chowder. This show, I believe, will be the downfall of all intelligence and sanity of future mankind.I do not, in any way, expect you to watch the entire thing, because I could only watch the first two minutes and thirty seconds.



This video, at lease the first two minutes and thirty seconds of it, displays many traits that I'm sure you don't want your children to mimic. Among the many are stupidity and disrespect. There are many other television shows that are on that display traits such as these, however, this is the main one that I noticed, as I hear it on a lot while my brother watches it. I advise you, for the sake of a brighter, more intelligent tomorrow, block shows, such as Chowder, that shows how "cool" it is to act stupid.

Solstice Festivities in Fairbanks, Alaska Part 3: Midnight Sun Game

The Midnight Sun Baseball Game is held every year on or near the Summer Solstice in Fairbanks, Alaska. The interesting and unique thing about this game, however, is that it begins at 10:00 at night and plays through without turning on the lights. Below I have posted the last pitch of the game. I had box seats thanks to a friend of the family, Joe Usibelli. I personally believe that the last pitch was a ball though it was called a strike, but either way it was a very interesting game, and the incorrect call was in favor of my team.

Solstice Festivities in Fairbanks, Alaska Part 2: Solstice Festival

The solstice festival is held every year in Fairbanks, Alaska (and probably other places). It features many things such as foods, performances, artwork, and much more. There were many cotton candy stands, foreign food stands, and pizza stands. I even saw an extraordinarily over-priced southern food stand. I wouldn't pay seventeen dollars for a piece of fried chicken. Among the many art features at this event, one that really stood out was the chalk art. Two young ladies were given a picture and were re-creating that picture on the road. These two seemed to be fantastic artists. Their work looked really challenging (though, I'm not an artist, so I wouldn't know). Another thing that stood out was a car with a moose head sticking out of the top. It seemed to me to be quite colorful, and creative. There's not much left to say about the Solstice Festival in Fairbanks. It was a real treat to get to go, and I hope to go again next year.

Solstice Festivities in Fairbanks, Alaska Part 1: The Midnight Sun Run

Warm beads of perspiration emerge from your forehead as you open the door of your well air-conditioned home. The date is June 21st, and you don't care about the summer solstice for the fact that it's 100 degrees outside. A few thousand miles north, however, there are festivals celebrating this under-recognized day. All of Alaska is cheering for the summer solstice not only for the fact that there's no snow, and it's above freezing, but also because the sun never completely sets. On this amazing day, there is sunlight twenty four hours. Some people ask, "How could people sleep in such conditions?" Well, some close the blinds, or even tape trash bags over their windows. As for me, I love the light. It gives you that feeling that you're not actually sleeping for the night, you're having a relaxing afternoon nap.
One of the major events celebrating the summer solstice is the Midnight Sun Run. This run is six miles (10 kilometers) long and has more than 3,500 runners. Well, you can't actually call some of them runners. In the past years I've seen runners, walkers, joggers, skiers, electric skaters, and other forms of athletes. One of the major goals of mine this year is to finish the entire race before 11:30. Another interesting thing about this race are the costumes. There have been Jolly Green Giants, George Bushes, Salt and Pepper, and hundreds of other interesting designs. I haven't left yet, however when I get there, I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures.






Some time later

Well, my short term goal wasn't quite achieved. I got into the finish line at around ll:49 PM. Either way, it was a great experience and I really enjoyed myself. My favorite thing about it this year was the costumes. There were less this year, however, they were much more creative. There were storm troopers and pirates from Samalia, however my favorite was Octo-Mom. Some costumes were even used as advertisements. Lulu's bakery,a local store in Fairbanks, sent out a man dressed as a bagel. Another one of my favorites was a mosquito. This is funny because Alaska is notorious for horrible mosquitoes. As promised, I took many pictures.

Music: Effectiveness of Expressions and Gestures

Music is music. That's what many think, and that, of course, makes sense according to algebraic rules. But, what if music was something else? What if music was a story; or what if music was a dance? Some musicians, such as myself, see it that way. Just as actors on stage in a performance use enormous gestures (to be seen in the back row) some musicians use these gestures and expressions to get their point across. Much of playing music is being stylistic. Much of being stylistic is having a good mindset. So once again, by algebraic rule, having a good mindset leads to playing good music. And finally, a way to achieve a good mindset is to act the part. It's understandable that you won't sway for a song that is vivacious or fast (vivace or allegro) but for those, do something else. When playing a part that is meant to be big and almost nasty (Phantom of the Opera) I tend to tense my face (EXCEPT MY MOUTH!!) and that helps give me a big and almost nasty mindset.
Another good thing to have when performing is a story. There is such thing as good acting (just as there is such thing as good music playing), but how would you like a play with no plot? Probably just as much as you would like music with no plot. When you think of a story in the style of that of the music, the style and interest is displayed in your playing. If you can't think of a story in the style of your music, make one up.
A common misconception for a lot of musicians is that, when you're not playing, all you need to do is count. That, of course being a misconception, is incorrect. What I typically do, is either sway to the beat or move my head to the beat while continuing the story in my head. This helps you keep the style of your song, so that when you come back in, you don't need any time to adjust.

Note: In the following video, you can hear the bass trombone much more than you can hear me(the tubist). Either way, I have the same as everything else you're hearing: Loud, big, and nasty melody.

Excerpt from The Phantom of the Opera

By Andrew Lloyd Weber

Apres un Reve

I performed today at 1:00. This performance taught me a lesson, that I will keep with me the rest of my life. ALWAYS ensure that your valves are oiled WELL, or you could be sorry in the middle of the song. This was the situation with my recent performance. I'd oiled, not an hour before my performance, however I guess I didn't do this well enough. When I was about twenty percent done with the song, my valves began to stick. I fiddled with the valves until they would come up, and finally, they did. It caused a minor set back in, the performance, however the show went on. I decided today that I dislike performing, but every performance is a learning experience, and quite necessary for every musician. Preparing a solo, not only disciplines one, but also helps in noticing small things, such as accents and small dynamics.

Apres un Reve by G. Faure

Charles Woodward, Tuba
Suzanne McBride, Piano

grammar: a thing of da past?

Do you know that when writing, you are supposed to use a comma after a prepositional phrase, but only if it's at the beginning of a sentence. Do you know that that is only true sometimes, depending on the person who wants you to write that prepositional phrase. Do you know what a prepositional phrase is? Rules like these, are driving more and more people away from those rules that make us sound more decent. Some people believe that you should only use a comma after two prepositional phrases. So why bother, if you are probably going to be wrong in the end anyway? Well, when I have to empty my bladder, I find a restroom. When I eat, I eat off of a plate. Not all beings do those things, however, those structured events are what set us apart from other species. I believe that, as humans, it is our duty to be as structured as possible. Those who don't even try to use correct grammar, might as well go and take a crap on the sidewalk or search for bugs on the person who sits in front of him/her in class.

Easily Subscribe To This Blog

If you wish to "follow" this blog, but don't have the required account, there is an easy way to do this. You could go to the bottom of this blog and click on "Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)" Doing this will add this item to your RSS Feeds.


If you have Mozilla Firefox:
If you click on the link at the bottom of the page ("Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)") It will give you the option to show it in your bookmarks toolbar, which is the easiest way. You can then click on the drop-down menu for my blog, and it will show you any new posts.

If you have Flock:
Clicking "Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)" will automatically add this to your RSS Feeds sidebar, and will notify you when I update my blog.

If you have Internet Explorer 8:
After clicking "Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)" a new window comes up. When this window appears click "Subscribe To This Feed" and it will automatically add to your feeds list. This list can be found by the common RSS feeds icon.

If you have Google Chrome:
Unfortunately there is currently no support for this feed in Google Chromes.

If you have Safari:
After you click on "Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)" it will be added to your RSS Feeds. To access your RSS Feeds (on a Windows computer), click on the small icon showing a book. After that, click on the option in the side panel reading "All RSS Feeds" This will show you all the feeds that you have subscribed to and in a number in parentheses it will show you the number of updates since you last looked at it.


I hope this makes things easier. If you have any questions, email me at wellrounded1234@gmail.com

A Brief Biography of Adriano Banchieri

What do you think of when you hear music? Many people think of the pitches, many think of the tone of the instrument, however there is an element that many do not notice, unless trained to notice it. Without this element, one could dislike, almost detest a song, but not know why. This element is dynamics. There was a time, however, when dynamics were just a twinkle in the musician's eye.
Tommaso Banchieri was born on September 3, 1568. In 1590 he became a monk and changed his name to Adriano. He lived in Italy where he studied the organ and composition with his teacher, Gioseffo Guami, at the monastery. In 1596 Banchieri published the piece "La Organistina Bella" for the organ. This was the piece of music that brought the unknown element that made music more beautiful, and hence appreciated. This was the first piece to ever include dynamics. Over his lifetime, Adriano Banchieri composed many more pieces, that were unexpected, yet loved by his audiences. Banchieri died in 1634.
Many musicians, if you can call them that, dislike dynamics because they are difficult to master. Others, like myself, find them challenging, yet enthralling. Dynamics are what give the audience the feeling that they want more. It could also, if played incorrectly, give the audience the feeling that what they've been given is far too much. It could even be the element of music that makes irresistible and almost addictive. Dynamics could be the most powerful part of all music.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adriano_Banchieri http://www.hoasm.org/VA/Banchieri.html http://www.karadar.com/Dictionary/banchieri.html http://www.naxos.com/composerinfo/Adriano_Banchieri/25963.htm

Two Fantasies By Adriano Banchieri

Jon Kaplan, Trumpet
Jane Aspnes, French Horn
Benjamin Cepeda, Trombone
Charles Woodward, Tuba

Job Well Done!

I am currently studying at the University of Alaska Fairbanks with the players from the Borealis Brass (Borealis Brass Website). I am enrolled at their summer music academy. This academy includes two weeks of non-stop music studying. You begin on weekdays at 8:30 am and don't leave until 5:00 pm. While this is long and strenuous, it has helped me tremendously! A few months (about seven) ago, I decided that I would like to take up the euphonium to continue reaching toward my goal as a low brass professional. I have notice a huge improvement, showing that this academy has done it's job. At this academy, there is a concert every day. Well, today a quintet that I have recently joined performed at that concert, and we got tremendous feedback! I hope that you enjoy the video!

Welcome to Well-Rounded

Yesterday, I was asked exactly why I don't have a blog. To this I replied, "Why would I?" and we left it at that. At that point I began to ask myself what I would write about if I had a blog and what kind of audience would I like to appeal to. This past year, I took a course allowing me to study the fine art of creative writing. I will be taking another writing course in a few months, and I figure what better way to practice writing than to write a blog. This blog is entitled "Well Rounded" because it will follow my interests, which I must say, cover a broad range of topics. I probably will write quite a bit of things about my computer, and tutorials on exactly how to do things. I will also write quite a bit about music. Most of these things will be about the tuba, seeing how it is my instrument. I will also write about my life, which happens to be really interesting right now. I will write about poetry, because it is my second art. Finally, I will write about certain gadgets which I own or have used. With this in mind, I begin my first blog:

Hello, my name is Charles Woodward. I live in Aiken, South Carolina and am loving life right now mainly because I am in Alaska. I come up here every summer to attend a music academy known as the University of Alaska Fairbanks Summer Music Academy. At this academy I play tuba and euphonium. I have been playing tuba for about five years. I have been playing the euphonium for about seven months. I am currently typing on a piece of junk that I've fallen in love with, or rather the things it can do. My current operating system is Ubuntu 9.04. The gadgets that I may blog about are: Zune, Samsung Glyde, Canon Powershot A1000 IS, and more. I will probably do book reviews, and speak of what's happening in the world from the point of view of a highschooler. That's Right! I am currently a junior in high school. I may even share some of my poetry with you, which you may or may not enjoy. I must leave now, but don't forget to check back for something you may or may not find interesting.