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Michael Bublé

11/24/19

It’s that time of year again, where we start decorating the house with Christmas cheer, and what other than listening to Christmas songs helps get into that Christmas cheer. We all have that special Christmas album that we listen every year and for me it’s “Michael Bublé's Christmas” Album.

I’ve been a fan of his since my dad played his “It's Time” album on the living room stereo. I’ve always loved his fun upbeat music, sappy lyrics, and rich calming voice. My favorite Christmas songs is “Cold December Night”,

“It’s Beginning To Look Like Christmas”, and

“Christmas(Baby Please Come Home)”.

Recently, I read a book about his life called Michael Bublé Onstage and Offstage by Dean Freeman. In the book, I have learned so many unique and interesting things about him. A major thing I learned is how intertwined him and his family are. Such as his father taught him to sing in order for him to remember his address and that it was his maternal grandfather who introduced him to Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin. His grandpa wanted to become a singer himself so it gives him great joy seeing Michael fulfill his dream and is so proud of him, that he will sit in the studio for hours while he records, and fly around the world to watch him perform. His dad is the financial manager and his mom helps him keep in check. Michael has a dark side of comedy and if she sees that he takes it too far, she will say, “Did you really need to say that?”. He is always willing to listen to his family and recognizes how important they are. 

On page 8, he quotes, “Being famous has a double primed reality that everybody will listen to your stories in life whether or not they find you funny. That kind of thing can be a hindrance to your growth as an artist.  I don’t have to mention the names of talented performers who’ve lost their path in life as they become more famous. We know who they are, and I have a strong suspicion that part of the problem was that people either stop leveling with them, or they stop listening. My family on the other hand is my trusted judge injury and I will listen to them as I have all my life.”

 I also learned how much of a trouble maker he used to be such as teasing his sister about a guy she kissed when she was six and still taunts her with it today calling her ‘Joey, Joey, Joey’. He also got a D in food management class because he was too busy chatting up with girls. One time he stole bread at a bread factory because he thought it was funny. Another time he entered a contest at a nightclub with a fake ID and won and was later disqualified. Reflecting on it now, he thinks that kind of behavior was due to his insecurities. 

It took him 10 years until he was able to get a record deal and he almost gave up but his supportive team of family and business people  that believed in him enough to keep him going. Michael cares about his fans and works really hard to make sure the audience has fun. He doesn’t want people to compare him to the great Frank Sinatra, because he believes their can only be one, and instead wants to help make his music live on in a way that can reach new audiences. 

On page 76, he quotes, “I consider myself more of an entertainer than a singer, an old-time variety act that combines song with comedy. There aren’t too many entertainers out there doing a hybrid act like mine, and I think it gives the audience a way better experience than merely listening to me sing my way through a set list.”

Now that you have learned about the artist who sings and performs my go to christmas songs, it’s time for you to listen to yours. Or mine if I’ve peaked your interests or that you’re already a fan. And above all else don’t forget to…

“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”

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Film Terminology in Horror Films

  10/21/19

    Every time we watch a movie there are certain effects that come to play. In horror and thriller movies, makeup, props, sets, sound, and lighting are a major part of what brings the eerie atmosphere to life. I will use examples in three different thriller movies to explain my point in better depth.

   In this scene low key lighting is used which means it is full of shadows, until the fire blazes up or the lightning strikes. The non diegetic sound which is the music in the background sets off that something frantic and scary is happening. Cross cut editing is used between the scenes of showing the headless horseman coming in after the mom and the boy under the crawl space. Cross cut editing means that they are clips of separate places that is used to link characters and also create suspense. Tracking is also used in which the camera follows the horseman’s footsteps among the floorboard. 

   Similarly, in this scene the non diegetic sound of the music creates a suspenseful atmosphere as well. There is soft focusing being used as the scene isn’t always so visually clear as everyone is moving fast paced. There is also a close-up frame shot of when Cale attacks Mr. Turner and you can see Cale’s fingers pressing into Mr. Turner’s head and his reaction. The blood falling out from his head and expressions make it seem more realistic. Also the effect of no sound and then the sound of the door breaking adds to the suspense.

    In this scene, eye-line match is used between the dog and the girl because it shows what each character sees and how they are reacting to it. Neutral lighting is used in this scene as the room is full of shadows except for the areas of light. The red ghostly figure peeping out of it’s side unexpectedly and the door shutting is the use of CGI, acting, and sound used to create a creepy scene.

   In this scene rack focus is being used by bringing the viewers to the gears of the machine and then back out to show the whole machine. This scene also uses eye-line match between the man and machine to delay time of the torture that is about to become slowly. The eye-line match scenes also show how scared he is and in what pain and how comprehensive he is with each cut. Close up is again used to show the actor’s painful reactions. This also creates suspense in that we actually never see his clearly the culprit’s face. The low key lighting creates enough shadows to cover his identity, along with soft focus, and the Dutch angle, which is used to tilt and usually indicates a type of danger.

   These are only a few of the many other examples and terminology to film. I never really knew how important it was for scenes to have all these aspects in them until I read this book. I found it very interesting and fascinating and think about it every time I watch a movie. If you find this topic interesting as well and would like to learn more, read the following book. 

Teasley, Alan B., and Ann Wilder. Reel Conversations: Reading Films with Young Adults. Heinemann, 1999.

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Pumpkin Carving

10/12/19

Pumpkin carving originated from and Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack", who invited the devil to have a drink with him, however, Jack didn't want to pay for it. So he convinced the devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the transformation was complete, Jack kept the money and put it back in his pocket instead next to his silver cross which kept the devil to turn back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the devil under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that if Jack should die he would not claim his soul. Then the next year Jack tricked  the devil again, but this time, into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While the devil was up in the tree, Jack carved the sign of the cross into the tree bark so that the devil could not come down until the he promised Jack not to bother him for another 10 years. The myth continues that once Jack died, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven and the devil upset by the trick Jack had played upon him would not allow him into hell. The devil then sent him into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth ever since. The Irish began to refer his figure as the ghostly figure of "Jack of the Lantern" and simplifying it to "Jack O' Lantern". In Ireland and Scotland they created their own version by carving scary faces into potatoes or turnips. Immigrants from those countries passed the tradition down to others and they carved with what they had, for example, England used large beats, and America who uses pumpkin. Pumpkins, the Native American fruit at the time would then be discovered to be the best fruit for carving.

History.com Editors. “History of the Jack O' Lantern.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 27 Oct. 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/jack-olantern-history.

Below are some photos of my pumpkin creations. 

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Tim Burton

10/2/19

   Tim Burton is known for his dark and gothic style and has made many movies that many people like or the very least talk about. Films such as The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepy Hallows, Beetlejuice, Batman, Corpse Bride, Coraline, Edward Scissorhands, Dark Shadows, and many others. Most people know Burton is an American filmmaker, artist, writer, and animator but not many of us know what and where his ideas came from and what he is really like beneath his dark and gothic artistic creativity. In the video of the interview shows and explains just that.

   If you are more fascinated about him and would like to hear advice he has given other students who are going into the film business you should watch this video below as well.

   After watching these videos, I feel more knowledgeable about the film business in animation that I didn’t know about. Without watching both of these videos, I never thought I’d really end up liking him and admiring him besides for his creative skill. I was surprised to find how knowledgeable, supportive, laid back, easy going, confident in himself, how he doesn’t let critics get to him, and tries to relate to others in his work. It’s nice to know that even though he does create a dark side of things, that he isn’t dark himself.

 Random questions after reading this please feel free to comment below to the following questions. 

What is your favorite Tim Burton movie and why?

Which character or story do you relate to most?

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The Publishing World of Jane Austen

By: Hannah Schmalshof

9/30/19

Publishing her own writing could threaten a woman's reputation as well as her social status. Many women besides Austin, published their first novels anonymously until their works were well known and their reputation as a novelist was established. Women were attacked for having the audacity to write and only in desperate financial need, such as to support a sick husband or children could excuse a woman's exposing herself and print to earn money.

Another reason women may have written anonymously is because women then faced legal obstacles to authorship if they were married. Married women had no legal existence. They could not own property or sign contracts. A man would have to sign the contract and then receive the money. It wasn't until 1965 that married women were legally permitted to publish a work or enter  in any profession without the consent of their husbands. 

Back then there was on four options for publishing, and those were as following. 

Publication by Subscription:

Subscribers paid for the projected book and advanced a list of their names that will be printed in the book when it appeared and author solicited subscribers kept records and collected money. 

Publication by profit sharing:

Publishers who chose this form of publication paper, the printing and advertising repaid themselves as the books were sold and shared. Any profit over and above the cost at the sale did not cover expenses. Publishers generally offered profit-sharing to untried authors whose market they could not predict and in some cases sharing profits could be more rewarding than publishing for oneself for selling copyright. If Austin had published all the additions of her works that appeared during her lifetime by profit sharing she would have  made more money than she actually did. 

Sale of copyright:

British authors who wanted to get rid of their property sale of limited copyright for a fee, sale copyright was the best option available. If they could find a purchaser, the fee offered a clear sum of money payable within a year of publication and removed the writer from the marketplace as none of the other options did. The publisher was obliged to pay the sum agreed upon however poorly the book sold. If sales were good and further additions were printed a publisher who had purchased copyright, they might send the author an additional payment. Established authors unwilling to leave themselves at the mercy of publishers, might have contracted for additional payments once a certain number of copies or additions were printed or sold.

Publishing on Commission:

 This was the method Austin used. Publication was their own risk or on commission as it was sold. The author was responsible for the cost of paper, printing, and advertising. The publisher also keeps the accounts of the distributed books to the trade and charged a 10% commission on each sold copy. If not enough copies were sold to cover the cost, it was up to the author to make up the difference.  Austen herself assumed that this method gave an initial outlay of capital. Some authors who chose this method however, could end up owing a lot of money if the book did not sell out and could very easily end up in debt. 

Printing books:

All Austen's novels were printed on hand presses similar in principle to those used by Guttenberg 300 years earlier. These techniques and especially the great expensive handmade paper kept the price of books high. It was much cheaper to print a small addition of 750 copies and to recompose and reprint it if sold out than to risk a large addition of two or three thousand that might ultimately be sold as waste paper. 

Jane’s publishing Career:

On November 1st 1797, Cadel and Davies, respectable publishers had refused George Austen's offer to publish Jane’s manuscript of First Impressions which were starting versions of Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey. It wasn’t until 1811, when Thomas Eagerton, who had published Henry Austen’s book, agreed to publish hers on commission. .In her lifetime, Jane only had four novels published, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma. After her death, the novels Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published. 

(Jan, Fergus, et al. The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen. Cambridge University Press, 1997)

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Austen’s Irony of Love…

By: Hannah Schmalshof

9/26/19

The author of six love stories in the 19th Century that are still read today, could not find happiness and love herself.  On December 3rd,1802, Jane refused the proposal of a man named Harris Bigg-Wither after a sleepless night that had changed her mind from saying yes the day before. He was her last chance of being married and was a very respectable wealthy man, who was friends with two of Austen’s closest female friends. No one really knows why she changed her mind but there has been some speculations to why. 

One being that she was 27 years old at the time which was considered too old for marriage in those days. Another reason is because by 1802, Austen had written three novels and tried to have one published. A married Jane could not have most likely been able to write novels or venture to publish them. Being unmarried allowed her to write freely and be happy of her achievements. She could also be content without a man because she would never be in poverty and there were always social gatherings that she would immerse herself into. She became very involved in her friends and families lives and studying the way men treated their wives or acted out in society. 

In 1869,  James Edwards Austen-Leigh’s book A Memoir of Jane Austen, Austen’s nephew stated this “ She did not indeed pass through life without being the object of warm affection. In her youth she had declined the addresses of a gentleman who had the recommendation of good character, connections, and position in life, of everything, in fact, except the subtle power of touching her heart.”

James, searching for more information to why Jane would decline such an offer, went to relatives for more information on the subject. According to what he found, Jane apparently confided in her sister-in-law Mary just after the incident occurred and Mary passed on the information to her step daughter Anna Austen Lefroy, and  onto her daughter. Basically it all was passed down to Caroline, and Anna’s daughter who both recorded what they had heard. A letter to Cassandra from Austen that referred to the incident were later destroyed and so we will never know what was written on them. 

Other reasons have to due with letters that contradict his personality. In some letters, it mentions that he was younger than Austen and was ill in health. A letter from Caroline Austen states that he was ”very plain in person-awkward, & even uncouth in manner-nothing but his size to recommend him”. Also adds in a later letter that “I believe the wife was very fond of him, & that they were a happy couple-He had sense in plenty and went on through life very respectfully as a country gentleman”. From a guy named Honan states that ” He was silent, rude, awkward, difficult with his loving father, badly inhabited by a cruel stutter, he was an amiable, silent giant of, He was, at that moment, acceptable to almost no one”.

Prior to being asked, her past experiences with two other recorded gentleman may have affected her heart. One was from a gentleman she met in 1798, when the Austen sisters visited at a seaside resort who was possibly a clergyman. When they departed, he asked to see her again, however before he could propose marriage he died. 

(Jane Austen Among Women, by Deborah Kaplan) 

The other gentleman was the famous Tom Lefroy. Jane’s earliest surviving letters were written from Stevenson in January 1796 to Cassandra. The first paragraph in the letter mentions the birthday of Tom Lefroy, was visiting his aunt and Uncle at Ashe Rectory, coming from Trinity College, Dublin. In the letter she also mentions to Cassandra that she dare not say how badly she and Tom had been behaving: ‘Imagine to yourself everything most profligate and shocking in the way of dancing and sitting down together.’ She adds ‘He is a very gentlemanlike, good looking, pleasant young man, I assure you.’ They only met at dances and he hated to call. She also refers to him as her friend in this letter. A few days later she writes again and in this next letter she mentions that she expects to receive an offer from her friend that she will refuse him unless he promises to give away his white coat, the only thing Jane saw as his one flaw. She also adds that she plans to confine herself to Mr. Tom Lefroy, and give up her other admirers. The next morning she writes in tears about how the day has come to be the last that she will flirt with Tom Lefroy. 

Mrs. Lefroy had sent her nephew packing at the end of a very few weeks that no more mischief might be done between two young people who had together nothing to live on and that was that. Mr. Lefroy got over his infatuation quickly enough. He was called to the Island Bar the following year in 1797. A letter in November 1798 from Mrs. Lefroy to Cassandra, is the last reference to Tom. In this letter she writes, ‘I learn’t that he has gone back to Ireland, where he is called to Bar and means to practise.’ In 1798, he became engaged to a wealthy Irish girl and married her in 1799, and settle down in Ireland and no record shows that Jane and him ever saw each other again. Years later he told his nephew that he had once been in love with the famous Jane Austen, but that it was a boyish love. 

(The Life of Jane Austen, by John Halperin)

Jane did not marry, nor did she have the happy ending of romance as many of her characters did in her stories, but I do believe that it was her experiences and not marrying that allowed her to be one of the most successful and loved authors of time.