A Wave of Fans vs Critics Drinking an Ocean of Haterade

Fluffy waffles on a cozy couch, the morning sunrise just poking over the hills, and the birds singing a sweet serenade. The family is brought together by the simplicity and humor of Saturday morning cartoons. Our most favorite was Spongebob Squarepants. These are the times I look back and treasure as the days get hectic and we all move in different directions. It never crossed my mind until most recently that this show I loved could in fact be harming me. Alarming allegations against whom lives in a pineapple under the sea sent my mind spiraling on what has become of us. Accusations stating watching the sea sponge and his gleeful antics cause an inability to learn, think, and concentrate are shocking but overall disappointing that instead of pointing the finger at ourselves we point it at a fictional cartoon that we ourselves created. Spongebob is just a cartoon and it can not be blamed for educational issues.

    It is no new craze, people have been blaming entertainment for causing other issues for years. Steven Pinker gives examples in his article Mind Over Mass Media

written in the New York Times of when comic books first came out in the 1950’s people thought they were the cause of violence and crime. We can now see this is absurd but yet we still do it just with a different form of entertainment.  Video games since their creation to the present day have been seen as a cause of violence as well. MTV’s Teen Mom has been seen to glorify and send teen pregnancy into a skyrocket.  Even though the amount of teen parents has not risen at all in fact, it is at its lowest rate in 30 years. This proves that the people have been fed the wrong information by the media. We are thinking things without solid proof. A person’s violent tendencies or other risky behavior doesn’t have to do with the video games, comic books, or the T.V. shows  they experienced. I strongly believe that it is accurate to say a majority of the population would agree that the form of upbringing is the most crucial puzzle piece to shaping a person’s future personality and actions. So why would we point the finger at the cartoon when it comes to a students academic troubles? Shouldn’t that once again fall into the hands of the guardian or educator? Correlation is not causation although some see it differently.

    Carmen Chai exhibits interesting reasoning for her opinion against the porous square.

In her article written in The Calgary Herald entitled Frantic SpongeBob found to lower kids' ability to learn; Study reveals fewer effects in calm cartoons, she opens with, “Sitting through an episode of the fast paced cartoon Spongebob Squarepants may give parents a headache,” telling us how she really feels right away. I didn’t know spending quality time with your children watching cartoons that they enjoy caused physical pain to the area around your brain and skull, that is quite interesting news to me. Does reading a book to your child based on the same cartoon or similar cause pain to your corneas? I’m just curious because corneal damage is nothing to take lightly. Are we going to have to burn all the literature Carmen Chai?  

She goes into a study done on a group of 4 year olds where their problem solving abilities are tested after watching nine minutes of Spongebob. Another group is given the same test after watching nine minutes of Cailou, a calmer cartoon born in the land of Canada. The results she shows claim the Spongebob group’s scores were significantly lower than the Cailou group. While showing this she explains her hypothesis that Spongebob being a fast paced cartoon, breaks down a child’s attention span and ability to concentrate. Cailou is what she interprets to be the superior cartoon choice because it is much slower paced. Yes, if one was seeking to replace comedic wit with slug paced predictable plots more like a lullaby than entertainment then yes, Cailou is superior by far.  One mediocre experiment was not enough though.

    A second study was conducted. In this particular study the four year olds were sat down and a plate of marshmallows was set down in front of them. Scientists told them to wait about five minutes before they ate a marshmallow. Results expressed that the Spongebob group waited only two and a half minutes while the Cailou group was able to wait four.  We all know the tempting powers of a marshmallow. I’m no pastor but I am fairly certain it was a marshmallow that tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden so I find this experiment flawed.  How good is a four year olds sense of time? Scholastic explains that four years olds are very much in the now. They tell how time passes by events throughout the day and year such as birthdays, lunch time, and other important events like that. Actual time telling isn’t as prominent until later on so this experiment should not be considered. The studies are flawed for not only this but for a few different reasons.

        The studies would be considered more valid if the group being tested upon was even the best group to get the most accurate results.  Spongebobs producer spoke to CNN regarding the controversy against the popular Nickelodeon show. For starters although the four year old age group may watch the show as well, the shows target audience is six to eleven year olds. He elaborates, “Having 60 non-diverse kids who are not part of the shows target demo, watch nine minutes of programming is questionable methodology. It could not possibly provide the basis for valid findings that parents could trust.” Cailou would be the more appropriate show for the group they are testing because Cailou’s target audience is two to five year olds, and in the show Cailou was written in to be a four year old. The trials and tribulations the small chico goes through are meant to be based around things that normal preschoolers would come across, eh. (Get it. Because he is from Canada) Things that they can relate to and better understand. Is a four year old completely understanding everything that goes on in an episode of Spongebob? That is kind of up in the air, no one can really say or be positive. So why then would the target group of the experiments not be the target group of the show that may not understand it anyway? Below is a clip from Cailou and you can clearly see what age group it is directed towards.

  Furthermore, as attention span is the main topic of discussion I would like to bring to the table that the average four year olds maximum attention span is only around fifteen minutes anyway, while a child who is six to eleven years old can usually remain focused between half to a full hour.

    Chai sites Oren Amitay and Mark Sabbagh, psychologists and so called parenting experts. They pose a solution or an aid to solving to the main issue, being children’s difficulty concentrating by saying parents shouldn’t let their kids watch TV before school or watch TV in between on studying breaks to increase their attention span on the tasks at hand. This is a good idea but in all the psychology books I’ve ever read including Basic Psychology by Richard Straub  they actually recommend these breaks. You don’t necessarily have to watch T.V. but it won’t hurt. Breaks such as these, not being overly challenging to the brain have been proven beneficial, your brain needs to absorb and store what you just took in into its long term memory so you will be able to later retrieve it more easily. Scientists at the University of Sienna discovered and explained that although it may not seem like it to the older generation, kids get stressed out too. Things we find simple are quite new to them. Watching a normal amount of cartoons was discovered to have an almost pain killing effect, like a stress reliever. Kids who are stressed out or in pain are not going to be able to concentrate in school and this will obviously affect their ability to learn.

Above is chart that displays the incredible increase in the diagnoses of ADHD in previous years. Now the recommended amount of studying time for adults to best absorb and retain the information being taken in is actually only twenty minutes anyway. Experts say twenty minutes on, twenty minutes off is the the best game plan to get the best results. Are we perhaps setting our children up to fail with unrealistic expectations?  If we think about how much focus we put on testing and MLA format essays it’s no wonder the diagnosis of ADHD has increased. The classroom can turn into a robot convention quickly with the boring meter off the charts for students and teachers alike. The discussion of concentration in kids has turned into a frenzy among teachers and child psychologists. I seeked out the view point from a teacher of this upcoming generation.

 A second grade teacher voices her opinion anonymously on a child development learning site. In her eyes people are too quick to diagnose kids with attention problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. They diagnose quickly when they see a child who is fidgety in the classroom sh. While occasionally these diagnoses can be accurate sometimes there is a different issue and instead boils down to the teaching style. “If educators don’t switch up the routine every now and then kids aren’t going to remain as actively engaged,” she explains.  We are in an era where the technology is so advanced we can’t keep teaching kids in the same way that we used to.

    Lets take a moment to look at the positive Spongebob offers. He exhibits kindness to everyone, even the “villains” per say of the show, Squidward and Plankton. He works day in and day out at the Krusty Krab displaying fabulous customer service that I think many adults could benefit from seeing. Then goes home and takes care of his snail, Gary. Kids can gain from his excellent display of friendship with Patrick the Star. I personally learned to never give up on something you desperately wish for when after time and time again Spongebob fails his boating test, but he continues admirably never giving up. Right this moment I am using skills acquired from numerous episodes. For instance the episode where he has to write a paper about what not to do at a stoplight. During this episode he is distracted by everything around him, and does everything besides write his paper until about fifteen minutes before it is due. By seeing this I learned not to procrastinate. I learned about perseverance once again when Spongebob wants to get buff but doesn’t want to work for it and purchases inflatable muscle arms. Nothing good comes out of inflatable muscle arms, working hard for real muscle arms always pays off, I know this now. I learned that parenting is a big responsibility from watching the episode where Spongebob and Patrick take in a stray clam who can not find it’s mother and treat it as though it were it’s own. That’s diversity if I ever have seen it, and it’s a beautiful thing. From the episode where he takes a jellyfish home who only wants to party every night I acquired the knowledge that partying is fine but to always in moderation. The list goes on for days but I’m not the only one who has learned something from this cartoon that is under the laser beam eyeballs of destruction and hate from critics.

A story of true friendship is displayed written in an article in the Carleton Place. A girls best friend begins choking on a piece of Trident chewing gum. Sources have said the flavor was none other than original. The girl gets flashbacks from an episode where Squidward chokes on his clarinet and then Spongebob saves him with the heimlich maneuver. Having this knowledge fresh in her head she acts and saves her friends life. I rest my case folks. If I had a microphone I would drop it and walk of the stage that I also don’t have. Has anyones young life ever been saved inches from certain doom by Cailou? No it has not.

    So are we going to remain insane blaming innocent entertainment that we created and have the choice to consume as the issue? Or are we going to grow up and take ownership for the issues we see and actively search for solutions? Searching for new ways to teach today’s youth is the key to this large heavy door called life. Everyone needs to sit back, relax, and enjoy some good cartoons now and then. It is good for your soul. As with everything moderation is another key component, too much of anything can be a bad thing. But none of the studies produced solid enough evidence to prove that watching a normal amount of this cartoon could be harmful to a child’s learning and focusing ability.

Anything Post

I was so pleasantly surprised when I read the label of a Naked Juice and saw all the healthy ingredients. The back of the bottle looks something similar to this: 10 apples, 57 blueberries, 48 mg of parsley, 5 bananas. I tried it because a ton of my friends had tried it and said it was super healthy and I should definitely try it. While I want to appreciate Naked Juices great efforts to make a delicious drink filled to the max with fruits and what not, I can't help but feel that this all can be to good to be true. According to an article written by Kevin Geary Naked Juice's hit beverage "Green Machine" has as much sugar as Mountain Dew. In their defense all the juice drinks sugar comes from real fruits. When eating a real piece of fruit your body takes care of the sugar with no problem, but when the fruit is in this form of a drink most of the fiber disappears so your body doesn't regulate these sugars like it should. Instead they just stay in your body. Most health experts say you should just eat an actual piece of fruit instead. If you sit down and think about it, it makes no sense to drink a drink containing similar to 3, 5, 10 apples, oranges, kiwis whatever fruit. You wouldn't sit down and eat that much fruit in one sitting. Another interesting fact, Naked Juice is made by Pepsi. Pepsi does not have a fruityard. So the fruit inside is mostly processed goods with GMO's and are synthetic. So this obviously has a significant effect on the nutritional value. Reading in between the lines of the label, we can see nutritionally Naked Juice and Mountain Dew, aren't all that different.

Sports Post

Skateboarding is one of the most difficult sports. Espn posted a funny article where they ranked all the sports in order from most difficult to least difficult. Badminton and team hand ball scored more difficult then skateboarding which is mindboggling. I can see how they may have their difficult characteristics but after many years of being forced to play these in gym classes I can say one pretty much gets the hang of it in about 15 minutes, while skateboarding is something that takes years to perfect. I believe it should be considered America's greatest past time. No one uses steroids in skateboarding. There hasn't been a XGames gold medalist who had to return all his medals for doping, large muscle masses wont help you. It is better then most sports not only for these things but because of the amount of precision it takes. One false move and you could be injured for months! And the fault falls on no one but yourself and that is a risk not at large in many other sports. I don't hate other sports like football and baseball but I have grown tired of all the doping controversies. I just find it confusing how one can be given large amounts of money to play a game and still have to cheat.

Tattoos: A Declaration of Love or a Known Sin

It sounds like the start to some science fiction movie. The Department of Archeology from the University of York in Britain made the kind of discovery every archaeologist longs for. In a solid block of ice a mummy was discovered. Their discoveries suggest the “Ice man” was the ripe age of 5,200.  The ice shockingly kept the man decently preserved. Upon his skin markings were discovered, tattoos. It’s interesting how  through the centuries people, places, and cultures change and evolve in many different ways but sometimes certain qualities remain. Human beings as a whole, all over the world have since the beginning of time been interested in the concept of body modification. We get tattoos, we get piercings, we workout to get thin, we drink protein shakes to bulk up. Maybe we just get bored but that’s beside the point. We do these things and we never really think about if they’re wrong. They’re our bodies, life is short and we only have them for that short time, we can do what we want with them right? Possibly one of the more controversial, talked about subjects is tattoos. Tattoos in the workplace is just one example of a common debate and this is one my ears are tired of frankly. I’ve heard the ins and outs of that talk of what is considered “professional” or not for a place of business from Timbuktu and back, but a recent topic that caught my attention was whether or not, according to the bible, if tattoos are a sin. I stumbled upon an article written by Terry Watkins and I found it quite intriguing. I myself do not have any tattoos but I found Mr. Watkins’ interpretation of the bible and how the body art is considered a sin highly outrageous. It takes technicality, grace, and years of dedication to perfect. Tattooing is not a sin it is an art form that can symbolize one’s spirituality.

If we look back in time tattoos were seen as the opposite of a sin. Cate Linberry, a writer for The Smithsonian takes us on a little trip through history. Her article states in Greece, 450 BC, they were seen as a , “Mark of nobility..and a declaration of love and religious beliefs.”  A little farther away in Egypt the body art was actually exclusive to women. When a woman became pregnant she would get a tattoo of Bes, a woman who was seen as the protector of women in labor, on her upper thigh. It was seen as a permanent form of a lucky charm during the difficult time of pregnancy.  Since that time the entire idea has been revolutionized. Concepts of shading, depth, and consistency are tested and analyzed on shows like, Ink Master or Best Ink. It’s become a phenomenon and a positive one at that.  People are looking at the age old art in a different way. They are now discussing art in a sophisticated way. And although the technical side of it has exploded in the media in mostly recent years the sole reason of why one gets a tattoo for the most part stays the same, “a declaration of love,” love or commitment for something that they hold true to their life.

That is something I’ve always believed, which is my reasoning for finding the article by Terry Watkins,where he seems most certain they are sinful, quite interesting. He opens with a bible verse from the old testament. Leviticus 19:28 says, “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you.” This is the basis of his entire argument. He calls this verse the, “So called christians worst nightmare.” Watkins then goes into explaining how these christians will go “miles and miles” to try to justify the way they disobey the word of god. He brings up an argument he finds common by christian people with tattoos. This verse is from the Old testament and christian people now a days focus more so on the new testament. His argument to combat this is equally outrageous. He explains that beastiality and prostituting your daughter is only talked about as being banned in the old testament not the new. So under his logic if you believe tattoos are okay because they are only talked about in the old testament then you must be okay with beastiality and prostituting your daughter as well. I believe I’m not the only one who sees the miles of difference in between some ink and these few topics. There is another intriguing debate regarding Revelations 19:16 which some claim to actually be proof that Jesus himself had a tattoo. “And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Watkins loses his mind on this one. As he flies off the handle he says, “Can anyone with any spiritual discernment (or a brain) really believe the Lord Jesus Christ has a tattoo? Isnt it amazing how spiritually blind someone becomes when they began to justify their disobedience to the word of God...But what really is frightening about this gross, perverted, wicked interpretation of a "tattooed" Jesus Christ in Revelation 19:16 – it makes the Lord Jesus Christ a SINNER!” But wait there’s more, “It means the Lord Jesus CLEARLY disobeyed Leviticus 19:28! It means the Lord Jesus Christ was not Holy! He was not the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. He clearly was disobedient and broke the Leviticual Law of Leviticus 19:28!” He goes on to say that the “spiritually sicko, perverted,christian tattooers” are wrong he did not have any tattoo.  This line from Watkins definitely boggles my mind because he is so quick to judge others as spiritually blind only being in the process a little spiritually blind himself.  Luke 6:37 says, “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged, condemn not and ye shall not be condemned, forgive and ye shall be forgiven.” It’s amazing how one part of the bible can be scrutinized to all end. One tiny part about one tiny thing can make some people not see the huge majority of passing no judgement. I could go on forever with the numerous biblical quotes of passing no judgement and loving thy brother. “Let he who is without sin among you throw the first stone,” John 8:7. Those are words from Jesus himself. Your views are interesting Mr. Watkins so I won’t throw any stones at them and call you wrong, because whether or not Jesus had a tattoo is most likely an unimportant lesson compared to the numerous good ones the bible holds. Which is why as I’m trying to wrap my mind around your claims find it difficult to say the least to think Jesus would believe that what one man interprets Revelations 19:16 to mean makes him a perverted sicko.  Something interesting Watkins more or less beats around the bush about is the verse right before Leviticus 19:28, his main argument. In Leviticus 19:27 the bible states,”Thou shall not round the corners of your head nor shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.” This verse is what one pastor uses to justify why he gets body art.

Pastor James Heins has multiple tattoos, none of which he regrets or believes are sins against the Word that he preaches each Sunday. He tells a story where a man came up to him and asked him to tell his daughter that it was a sin to get a tattoo, referring to the same verse as Watkins does. Heins opens up his bible, at this time in his life he does not have any tattoos, and he reads Leviticus 19:27-28. Then he tells the man that if he was to be a consistent and faithful bible teacher and tell his daughter it was evil to get a tattoo, under that logic he would also have to ask him to repent his recent hair cut. He then goes on to explain that some of the laws God gave to the people in that time, an extremely long time ago, were to guide them away from the wickedness of neighboring cities. These cities at the time were known for tattoos that were associated with false gods. Then he said something that was interesting because as we move through the history of tattooing it continually comes up. Why does Pastor James Heins get inked? Commitment. He explains, “I think it’s necessary to regularly remind myself of the importance of commitment in a world that’s terrified by it.  Tattoos, for the most part, are a visual, physical lifelong commitment.” He shows hope for the up and coming generation saying that through the rising number of tattoos comes the rising number of people who remind themselves of their life long commitments.

Reading what Heins had to say left a positive feeling with me. He seems like a man who sees the good in the world, while on the other token as I tried to understand his logic I got the complete opposite feeling from Mr. Watkins. I looked into his website. Anyone can view it. It is called Dial the Truth Ministries. As soon as I got on I was bombarded with negativity. In the middle of the page was a graphic that had a number flashing and increasing by two each second. Next to it indicated that since I had opened that page that number of people had died and in big, bold, red letters it said, “Your death is coming! Are you prepared to die?” I searched further into the articles published and fell upon articles with names such as, “The Dragons Hot Breath: Unmasking the Awful Truth about Christian Rock Music.” Really? Christian rock music preaches of love and the grace of god, not smelly dragon breath. Or for another example, “Religious Rock..the devils music in the Church!!!” I did not exaggerate those exclamation marks, there are really that many.   Reading this gave off more the feeling of everything being a sin. Not to mention he makes whom he calls “So-called Christians” sound uneducated. He enters in his own dialog twisting the words of others sprinkling the word Dude” in every line. Have your views of the bible Mr. Watkins, I’m open minded enough in this new day and age to do my best to see your point, but just because one man’s interpretation of the bible isn’t the same as yours doesn’t mean he’s uneducated. It doesn’t mean he isn’t spiritual.

Art is art. The whole world is a piece of art if you think about it. Many of the tattoos I’ve been seeing lately are of verses straight from the bible itself. Verses about integrity, love, and forgiveness. A lifelong reminder to oneself about the great teachings the bible has to offer. A lifelong reminder to oneself to live with with integrity, love, and to forgive others. Like I said before we only have these bodies for this short time we’re on earth. When we die they stay here. Now we could sit and scrutinize every word of the old and new testament, and have more fear of every little possible sin. Or we could just live our lives by what we know is good. We could live our lives with love. In the end when our soul goes up to heaven, I think God will be more concerned with how much love you gave to the world, not the artwork you chose to put on your body.

Does MTV's Teen Mom Glamorize Teen Pregnancy?

We live in a world that is a cornucopia of reality shows. There seems to be a common debate among such shows. Do they glamorize a life that shouldn't be given so much attention? Is a negative message of how the real world is being sent to our young adults? Teen Mom is a great example of this common controversy. An article on Live Science brought up interesting points that I cant help but agree with. The show follows teens through their pregnancies, and for the majority of the hour or so the episode is, it's mostly their hardships that are being displayed. They are having family troubles, money troubles, boyfriend problems, and I have rarely seen an episode without an epic shouting match. Being from the teen community I can vouch and say this is something many teens watch to feel better about their current money, family, significant other, etc issue. There is no glamorizing effect there.  The author also brings up that the impact the show has on a teens decision making skills in regards to sex has mostly to do with there family history. A survey was done on 313 undergraduate girls in the U.S. The results expressed that girls who watched Teen Mom and who's parents had communicated with them growing up about sex, did not engage in as risky behaviors, while girls who watched the show and who's parents had not communicated with them openly, had. If you notice in the show there is often some sort of troubled story built up before the pregnancy only adding more and supporting this point that family history has much to do with it. The show doesn't glamorize teen pregnancy but it does put an unfortunate light upon teen parents in general. In the end while I don't think the show is the most positive thing to put on television I think it may have positive aspects and maybe by seeing the everyday hard ships it may open the eyes of some teens and encourage them to not make the same mistakes.

Response to "Thinking Outside the Idiot Box"

While reading Dana Stevens', "Thinking Outside the Idiot Box" I was picking up some strong vibes. Mr. Stevens strongly dismisses every attempt by Steven Johnson to prove T.V has any educational value. Although I can't help but to agree with him when he speaks of the 16 minutes worth of commercials on any given television episode can't be beneficial, I feel his arguments are weak and unimpressive for the most part. When he says "For those of us who grew up in the cave man days, fashioning cruel stone tools, while watching Starsky and Hutch" I was picking up that someone might be just a tad jealus. He even back tracks and admits shows like the Soprano's has a sophisticated plot, yet questions directly after, "Does that make you smarter?" Of course it does. If you read a book with a sophisticated plot are you going to question if it's making you more dumb? I don't think so. He even goes as far as to talk about the Telletubies. The nerve. He exclaims about the beloved series that it is only, "A tutorial for toddlers to learn the essentials of vegging out." First of all most of the humans who watch that are obviously very young so all they can really do at that point in their life anyway is veg out, and the telletubies were very active so I think on the contrary that teaches good life style habits. I think T.V is especially helpful when a child is young. There are so many shows that teach numbers, letters, colors, and morals now a days. I even occasionly watch nick jr. to brush up on my morals. After driving in Rockford traffic all day it is needed indeed. So I feel this article may be slightly out dated.

Perscriptions and Pills versus Harmonies and Trills: Musical Therapy

Everyone has had that artist or song that got them through a hard phase of their life or even just a hard day. It’s for that reason, despite what skeptics may think, that I believe music therapy is such a promising form of medicine. The American Music Association states that, “Music therapy is an established health profession in which music is used within a therapeutic relationship to address physical emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals.” These doctors believe that by guiding their clients to create, dance, or listen to music an outlet is created or rather an “avenue of communication” for patients to express their feelings, feelings that may be difficult to express in words, but the benefits don’t stop there. Sound therapy is being used to help individuals with brain damage from traumatic injury and strokes. This way of healing is expanding throughout the world and being considered by doctors everywhere. After all, music is something everyone can relate to no matter who they are or where they came from, making it often more beneficial than the typical prescription.

Irs Alshuler quotes John Dewey in The Organism as a Whole and Music Therapy, “The arts break through barriers that divide human beings that are impermeable to ordinary association.” Since the beginning of time break barriers indeed. While this thought of music as a curing mechanism seems like a new discovery, doctors have actually gone back to basics, looking deep into our roots. Eva Agusta Vescelias, founder and president of the National therapeutic society in 1903, gives examples of music therapy believers in her article Music and Health. Claudious Galenus, known as the father of medical science and the greatest physician of ancient Rome, played a pivotal role in the way we are looking at medicine. Born into luxury his father surrounded him with the greatest tutors in the land. He became incredibly knowledgeable about the human anatomy, and he used this knowledge as base for his theories. Part of his theory was recommending having someone play the flute upon suffering parts of the body. He would recommend this therapy to wounded gladiators. This would also be used to cure things such as seizures and sciatica, which is a pain or tingling numbness of the leg. The belief was that the vibrations on the fibres of the afflicted area brought relief. It is also recorded that Asclepiades in 100 BC said music could cure disorders of the ear, nearly 2000 years later in modern day musical vibrations are used to treat deafness. Beethoven himself was deaf and wrote intricate symphonies by sensing the vibrations of the instruments. Other early references date back to the early 1800’s. Two articles related to the, “Therapeutic value of music” were published in a medical journal by Edwin Atlee and Samuel Mathews. The two men were students of a Dr. Benjamin Rush, a physician and psychiatrist known in the time for using music as means to treat medical disease. When the first and second world war came around many veterans admitted into hospitals with traumatic war injuries were also treated with this form of therapy. Nurses noticed the beneficial effects it had on wounded heros stating that their, “psychological, emotional, physiological, and cognitive state of being” improved significantly better than those that had the typical hospital routine. This is our history it’s a real thing. This isn’t just a belief some had or have based on certain cases, there is hard evidence and research to support these theories.

Research shows our human minds associate with rhythm and pitch patterns. These patterns and harmonies create emotions and impulses. Emotions such as motivation, unity, and belonging. Often composers write music based on how they feel at that time, releasing emotion, venting, creating that, “Avenue of communication,” for things that are to hard to explain in words alone. A listener can often relate and associate with the rhythm and pitches they hear in a piece and feel the release or motivation of those emotions as well. We can all imagine, or hopefully we can, doing some form of exercise. Let’s say for example the exercise is jogging. Your headphones are on and all of a sudden “In da Club,” by 50 Cent comes on. You hear that contagious rhythm of the bass and in an instance your morale changes and you’re running faster than you ever have. The Journal of Sports and Psychology did a study on thirty subjects and it showed that when engaging in cardiovascular activities people match their pace to the tempo of the song. Thus, musical pieces with upbeat tempos show to motivate individuals. This theory of motivation is something not many disagree with, it is easy to prove it to oneself. It is the idea of curing diseases or disabilities that some have trouble believing.

Some skeptics believe this new form of medicine is more of a placebo than anything else. They claim as well that there is no hard evidence of musical benefits on health and the benefits are more based on perception and and individuals taste in music. Researchers in Belgium claim that the idea of using sound therapy as a treatment for disabilities such as dyslexia are unwarranted, but this is not the case. Music therapy has proven to be especially beneficial in patients with speech problems. Their argument is understandable when they say, “While music and speech overlap..[words] are purely symbolic and require significantly more interpretation than just simply listening to a sound alone.” This is true, but the idea behind helping treat dyslexia with music is helping them develop rhythm in reading. Rhythm is something seen commonly as a trouble area for many dyslexic individuals. In the same realm of speech disorders is Aphasia. Aphasia is brought about by brain trauma. People with it have trouble remembering how to say and remember words. Symptoms were seen to improve significantly through a form of therapy called melodic intonation therapy. Often these patients can sing words they can not speak. Gradually they go from singing three syllable words, to speaking five syllable words. Great advancements don’t stop there as stated before Galenus would suggest music to treat people haunted by seizures.

Epilepsy, a condition where people often have seizures, can be treated by prescription medicine. These medicines often have undesirable side effects though, which is why other treatments are well sought after. Music has been proven to stimulate the brain in a specific way, leading to, “Better connections and more efficiently functioning neurotransmitters.” Neurotransmitters are the things in your brain that pass signals along to one another and other parts of your body. They are quite important. This all contributes to an overall calmer more coordinated individual with increased alertness and concentration, and most importantly a reduction of seizures. Individuals with the previously mentioned disabilities of epilepsy and dyslexia have these symptoms at birth, but what about the unexpected accident or unfortunate diagnosis? Music has an incredible effect on them as well.

For example, an individual gets in a car accident. An accident can not only leave someone with a traumatic injury but they are also often left with a loss of function, independence, feeling of loss of a role within the family, and change in physical appearance can ultimately lead to a loss of self esteem. All these things circling ones mind is a burden heavy indeed, that is when the poetic power of music comes in. That in combination with the safe haven created with the therapist allows patients to express these emotions in the fragile emotional time through writing songs or playing instruments. I spoke of how our minds associate rhythms and pitches. In a 2008 study people suffering from amnesia were found through association with the rhythmic patterns and pitches to recall forgotten events before the accident. Another unforeseen event one can be unfortunately stricken with is a stroke.

A study was done in Scotland around 2008 as well involving forty stroke patients. Stroke patients often experience depression. One group received typical hospital care while one group received forty minutes of music therapy a day. Results expressed that the group without the typical treatment were less depressed, less anxious, and more motivated to recover. Sound therapy produces the best results for stroke patients when administered early. After a stroke, “the brain has to compensate for damaged areas and reroute pathways to reform essential connections.” Experts explain that classical musics complexity stimulates many parts of the brain. These new connections can integrate in the cerebellum, the part of your brain near the brain stem that controls automatic functions. These new connections improve overall sensitivity and motor skills. Furthermore, sudden bursts of sound have been seen to stimulate increased firing neurons, sending electrical and chemical signals to other neurons and increasing the neural network of one’s brain. These are those neurotransmitters mentioned before. Science is fun! To continue we must conquer the question of the diseases that are often diagnosed at some point in life, and the hope that stands for them through musical therapy.

Schizophrenia is a disease that results from irregular amounts of dopamine in the body. Too much can cause hallucinations and too little can lead to depression. Thus a happy median is desired to conquer this. Engaging in musical practices is seen to cause the body to release levels of dopamine in the brain and improve the overall mood of a person.

Dementia is a disease that is defined as a loss of memory, attention, and cognitive function. Music can provide a, “Solace comfort, a sense of inner calm, deeper sleep, better mental awareness, and focus.” Family members and caretakers for dementia patients stated that their loved one when receiving this therapy were, “Happier, more cooperative, and more aware.” It seems like hospitals everywhere are thinking twice, not treating every patient with the same treatment, overall creating a more upbeat atmosphere with more options for recovery.

In mental hospitals music has been used to calm the patients. It has been found to have mind freeing qualities. It has also been seen as a morale booster for hospital patients, a break from that “status quo” from normal hospital procedures. Aiding in finding the inspiration to continue on the road to recovery, far from a placebo if you ask me. This has been working for thousands of years! The results don’t lie. Avoid undesirable side effects of another pill and give this a closer look before quickly devoting your body to another prescription.

"As He Himself Puts it" Post

The American Music Therapy Association states that, "Music Therapy is an established health profession in which music is used within a therapeutic relationship to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals." They continue on and explain how exactly a music therapist accomplishes their work, "After assessing the strengths and needs of each client, the qualified music therapist provides the indicated treatment." These types of doctors believe that by guiding their clients to create, dance to, or simply listen to different kinds of music, an outlet is created or rather, "Avenues of communication" for patients to express their feelings, feelings that may be difficult to express in words. I believe it's safe to say everyone has had that artist or song that got them through a hard phase of their life, or even just a hard day. It's for that reason I believe music therapy is such a promising new form of medicine. It's something we can all relate to no matter where we're from or what we're going through.

Ernie Ball Super Slinky Cobalts, a Reviting Review

When one becomes a musician of a string bearing instrument they often pick the least expensive strings at there local string dealer to start them off. Eventually those strings go bad and one will return to the store and pick up the same set. This continues on for sometime, and one slips into a string comfort zone. "I know these strings, they're only a few dollars, I've always used these, yep that'll do, good enough," they will think. I know that string comfort zone, I have walked upon it's beaten path, and now I'm glad to say I have strayed away! They future is here my friends, and it's a beautiful thing. Relax for a moment while I change your life. I read an article where a comparison was made between your classic Ernie Ball Super Slinky Electric guitar strings and Super Slinky Ernie Ball Cobalt guitar strings, a.k.a the future to revolutionizing your shredding. The difference between the two sets of strings is simple yet spectacular. The secret ingredient, cobalt, reacts swimmingly with the pickups on the guitar creating increased out put and clarity. In the article the author compares the two strings using a PRS McCarty and a Marshall JVM410C. The author also tested them using hum bucking pickups and then split coil to simulate a single coil sound to hear the results of the strings using different pickups. Right away the Cobalt's are praised by the author as he explains what he observes, "Starting with a very clean tone, the difference was noticeable, both in touch sensitivity and volume." They continue on to say how, with the single coil pickups in particular, the sound had noticeably more depth and higher output. The difference was the same with hum bucking pickups. In the article it also explains how when the gain was increased on the amplifier the touch sensitivity of the strings was less so but the clarity was still better then when the regular super slinkys were used. I did this same experiment, and my results were the same. With increased gain on my amp the Super Slinkys without the cobalt tend to lose their clarity. This becomes a problem especially when playing with a band and adding drums to the mix. My riffs and chords just stood out with the cobalt's. The one thing that turns people away from the cobalt's, the people in the string comfort zone, is the price. The regular slinkys are only $3.99 while the cobalt's are $9.99. Often many musicians don't think they are worth the try for nearly ten dollars. Often I hear, working at a music store, that some people think they have a low end guitar therefore they really only need the lower end strings. To that I would like to bring up that high end strings can make a lower end guitar sound like a dream.  All in all if your a fan of playing rock and roll or metal music there's no excuse to not try the Ernie Ball Cobalt's. Shell out the few extra dollars, shred on, and don't sacrifice clarity.

Gibson v.s Fender

Gibson and Fender, two legendary brands in the musical world, and both without doubt bring something huge to the table. Which one is better? Any musician you talk to will probably have different reasoning to whom in their opinion is best. I myself have played guitar for ten years and own a Fender Stratocaster. I've never had enough mullah to afford a Gibson so that in a sense could make me slightly biased, but I have had the opportunity to play one from time to time and have done my research on just what makes a Gibson a Gibson, and what makes certain players prefer them over brands such as Fender. A lot of people like to say that it depends on what kind of a player you are, your style of playing, the kind of music you enjoy, ect. The reason this is bought up has to do with the pickups on the guitar. Traditionally Fenders come with single coil pickups, this gives them a trebly, bright tone. Gibsons typically come with humbucking pickups, these pickups result in a more mellow tone. So people who preferred bright tones in there music would choose Fender and people who preferred mellow tones would choose Gibson. Now a days this doesn't matter as much and the reason for that is that many Fenders are made with humbuckers now. I like the mellow tone so I bought a Fender with humbuckers and didn't have to break the bank to get a Gibson. This is why I think Fender is better than Gibson there are more options. There are more options for the common man, the middle class citizen who doesn't have a grand or two to drop on a Gibson. There are many affordable options through Fender, such as the Squire and Squire Bullets, that come in different styles and different pickup options. On certain Fenders there may be two single coil pickups and a humbucker in which you can switch in between them. Wow, aren't options wonderful? Yes they are. Another thing to ponder when debating Fender or Gibson is the type of wood used for the body of the guitar. Gibsons traditionally are made with mahogany or maple while Fender's most popular choice is ash or alder. Mahogany results in a more smooth open sound while maple will be more crisp and precise. Ash tends to be more twangy and bright sounding. This is something to consider but shouldn't be the largest deciding factor because while these are the most popular woods chosen by brand they are not the only woods ever used.

Sources:
ultimate-guitar.com/Gibson-vs-Fender
gear-vault.com/Gibson-vs-Fender

Response to "A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not likely." Article

In the lengthy Article, "A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not likely." Robin Wilson provides numerous examples of how this idea of student debt is not as bad as we think it is. For the first half of the article I couldn't concentrate because I was thinking about how Robin Wilson's name reminded me of Robin Williams.  Then I was thinking about Aladin and how great he was as a genie, then I thought of all the things I would do if I had a genie, like pay for my college tuition,  and then finally I was thinking about student debt. This article was refreshing because I to, like Mr. Wilson, believe the world has instilled this large fear in students that if they go to get the education they want, they will be paying for it the rest of their life. While this may be so and a student may be paying month after month for many years it doesn't change the fact that going to college is a great investment. You buy a house and pay monthly and that likewise is a great investment. As with anything there will always be the good stories and the bad. Often we hear a bad story about how someone had massive student debt and it will distract us from the good stories of how a student was able to get the education they desired and have manageable payments. A quote that had me quietly applause in my head was said by Patrick M. Callan and he said, "The only thing worse than borrowing, is not borrowing and not going to college at all."  Well spoken Mr. Callan I couldn't agree more. That would be equivalent to saying, "Oh I'm going to live in this box because to get a house I would have to borrow and then I could be in debt." A box is no investment to a better life, a house is. No college equals no investment to a better life, it's an investment in a less than bright future because you were afraid of possible debt. We shouldn't live in this fear because another great point that Wilson brings up is that many of the student loans have very low interest rates. In that case it's borrowing at a low cost and investing in a better future for yourself.