how to make the perfect mix cd or how to communicate your emotions via digital media

There comes a time in everyone’s life when words just aren’t enough. Well, spoken words, that is. When you can’t properly articulate your feelings for another person (or group of people, for that matter), it’s time to, as the band Fall Out Boy says, let the ‘headphones deliver them the words you can’t say’. Sometimes, the only way to let someone know you feel is through a properly created mix CD.
There are a few important things to remember when creating a mix CD. One is to remember who you are giving the end result to. You don’t want to include music or lyrics that your target finds offensive, especially if your message is one of friendship or love. Two is to know your limits. While you might have heard the perfect song for the perfect “I Hate You” mix CD, it’s not wise run out onto the internet and steal the song from a third party. If you have to have it, go to iTunes. Third, and finally, keep track of the length of your CD. A mix that takes someone an hour to listen to in totality is not ideal. In fact, they will probably listen to the first, middle, and last tracks and then ignore the rest of it for the remainder of eternity, and no one wants that, especially after putting so much work into it.
Now, onto that aforementioned work. Making a mix CD is rather simple, and is comprised of four steps. One is to choose the emotion or message that you wish to convey, two is to create a playlist of the music that will make up your masterpiece of emotional storytelling, three is to use whatever software you own to actually burn your play list onto a CD, and finally four is to create a fancy title for your mix CD. Of course, there is also the optional step five, which is actually giving the CD to the person(s) it was created for.
Choosing an emotion or message can be very difficult, especially if you have a very complex relationship with the other person. It’s usually helpful to sit and consider the strongest emotion you feel when you think about that person. Is it love? Hate? Bitter jealousy? Or maybe a phrase comes to mind, such as “we’ll be best friends forever, even if she’s a dirty leech” or “I would rather let monkeys claw my eyes out that have to sit next to you ever again”. The sky’s the limit when it comes to how you feel, and don’t doubt that there’ll be any songs to cover your sentiment. More than likely, there is, and you’re just not looking hard enough. Once you have an emotion squared away, it’s time to consider the playlist.
Building a good playlist can be a daunting task. You must constantly keep in mind the flow of the music, and there are many, many ways to mold the flow of a mix CD, and depending on the message you want to send, that can add another dozen ways. It’s also important to keep in mind that a rule of thumb is you can’t have the same artist appear on a CD twice, allowing for a broad horizon of styles that each has its own way of sending the desired message. However, the most reliable way to create a playlist is to listen to your heart (however corny that sounds) and choose and place songs in whatever order feels right to you. After all, this CD is conveying your emotions, and you know you best. Also, be sure to listen to your playlist, to make sure you feel comfortable with it. It might take a few tries, but eventually you will have your perfect playlist, ready to be made into the perfect mix CD.
This step should be the simplest, by far. Simply choose a blank CD, stick it in the CD tray of your computer, and hit the ’Burn CD’ button on your media player of choice. Then, wait however long it takes for your CD to burn and voila, you have a real, live mix CD in your hands.
Finally, we come to naming your mix CD. This step can be the hardest or easiest, depending on the message. For instance, if you’re trying to seduce your crush of x amount of years into going on a date with you, a title such as “I Like You, Let’s Date” just isn’t going to cut it. Be artsy. Combine some of the words for the titles to make an unnecessarily long title, or perhaps make simple yet profound equation out of the titles of three of your favorite tracks. This step, like the second step, is truly a very personal one. It is of the utmost importance that you do what feels right to you, and what you think will garner you the most success.
Earlier, an optional fifth step was mentioned. This step, giving the mix CD to your intended target, is usually a very effective step to follow, however, is not necessary in the fact that making a mix CD should help you fully understand the emotions you were feeling, and perhaps come to terms with the people in your life. It could perhaps be called closure, giving the mix CD to the intended, but as stated before, it’s not necessary. Do what you feel is right and best for you. After all, that is what all emotional outbursts should be like. They should be pure, and wholly you, and not what you think others want to hear.

UWEC, an ethnographic view

Upon asking five random students, it quickly became evident that there’s a strong percentage of students that prefers to study in their rooms back at the dorms. There are a few instances where the students said they liked being in the library if they’re doing intense studying. As for studying habits, those ranged all over the board from utilizing flashcards to re-reading the material, to doing every practice problem from the unit. Also, it was mentioned that studying the night before has been beneficial, since it’s fresh in their mind.

On the subject of studying, leading us to grades, there’s a new threat to cheaters. An “XF” is a new sort of grade you can receive on your transcripts. However, it’s not a grade you’d want to strive for, seeing as it represents failure of a course due to academic dishonesty. Having this appear on your transcripts, for the world to see, can but a bad mark on you later in life, when looking for employment, or if you have to transfer to a different college.

I pass the sculpture “Sprites” literally every day. However, I never really took the time to consider it beyond the jokes made about “naked ladies dancing”. Upon closer inspection, the sculpture is by Paul Granlund and was present to the campus in 1978. I believe, that while aesthetically pleasing, it can also represent how people on campus should support one another, and if we do so, we can achieve better things together, as the collective of “Blugolds”.
I’m a Blugold, and upon saying that people who don’t attend UWEC immediately ask “What’s a Blugold?” I can’t ever give them the answer they’re looking for. A Blugold isn’t a thing, not a bird, not some monster used to muster up the fighting spirit on whichever sporting field you happen to be on, it’s more of a feeling. As summed up by a student speaker, a Blugold is “the spirit of the school from the classrooms to the campus to extracurricular activities”

Microfiche, or microfilm, is small-scale reproductions of printed materials, usually old newspapers or magazines. This allows for the preservation and easy storage of these materials. Microfilm readers magnify these little chips, allowing you to read, and print the material.

However, it’s not hard to find a real, paper newspaper on campus. Not hard at all. Head to the library, second floor, and there’s an endless amount of newpapers, both current and old. I picked up the most recent copy of the New York Times, and briefly surveyed one of the headlines. The title “Hold the Eulogies” caught my eye frist, and upon further reading I discovered that it briefly covered Senator Kennedy’s recovery and how he believes it will be strong, and that he has many more years to get under his belt before he calls it quits.

Overall, I see UWEC as a campus that is comprised of responsible students who know how to achieve their own success, resources for those students to utilize fully, and also with a overall atmosphere that promotes the sense of all-around support and the desire for success.

hipster time; episode one.

so after getting the okay to make more posts than just the required, i decided it'd be super fun to sort of share my favorite stuff with everyone. also, i saw this as an opportunity for me to express my love for top [insert number here] lists.

so this week, i decided to go with:
top five albums/ep's from bands you've probably [maybe] never heard of.
doesn't that sound just peachy?

5. cexcells [blaqk audio]
chances are, you've heard of afi [of miss murder fame], but not of this side project of lead singer davey havok and guitarist jade puget. it's quite different from afi's work, and there's even a little cd out there of about four remixes of the song 'stiff kittens'. if you're into techno and songs with deeper meaning than your average layered beat ditty, this might be something worth looking into.
best song iko: stiff kittens [jnrsnchz blaqkout remix]
[[surprise! this song is on the soundtrack for the new underworld movie.]]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWIEQcqFZPk

4. greetings from... [a rocket to the moon]
nick santino is so gosh darn adorable. you just can't say no to his face, or his voice for that matter, and his ep greetings from... is just so gosh darn catchy, you can't deny that he should be putting out a full-length album faster than he already is trying to do. because you'll want it that much. maybe. he definitely slides nicely into the pop-rock/powerpop category, but like i said, nick is just so cute, he stands out nicely.
best song iko: dakota
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2KOysRb-yU

3. london bridges [this is ivy league]
i'll bet you've never heard of bossa nova. i was right, wasn't i? well, this is ivy league is a very nice way to get a little taste of it, since not all of their songs are really bossa nova-ish, but enough of them are for me to associate them with the style. this two man group, comprised of ryland blackington and alex suarez [my personal favorite, ahahaha] from cobra starship, produces some seriously mellow tunes, which are really good for things like studying, or maybe even putting you to sleep. it still surprises me how different this is ivy league is from cobra starship. you'll get what i mean in a second.
best song iko: london bridges
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFHn11JfSN0

2. hold on tight [hey monday]
i don't listen to the radio anymore, so there is a chance you might have heard of hey monday before. if that's the case, this is the only exception to the gist of my list. their songs are definitely radio-friendly, but it's hard to say if the radio is allowing good music to be played on their airwaves yet. i'll be totally honest here and tell you straight out that i do not like female singing voices, but cassadee pope's voice is cute, so i can tolerate it. trust me, there are only about two other female singers out there that i can stand, so she should count herself lucky. haha.
best song iko: homecoming
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUW6YjsRJ-Q

1. razia's shadow [forgive durden]
i could go on for days about how highly i think of this album. it's not just an album, it's a freaking musical. that's right, it's a musical. in fact, just a few days ago, thomas dutton, the man who is forgive durden, released the rights to the music and script for fans to perform his musical for free. however, just because i said musical don't get visions of 'joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat' and 'oklahoma' in your head. this one is different, and the only way to understand that is to listen to it. i will mention that there are some guest stars such as brendon urie from panic at the disco, greta salpeter from the hush sound and shawn harris from the matches. the one music video that's out for the single 'life is looking up' hints at the fact that he's making his own production [perhaps a movie]. i can only hope. like i said, corner me and get me talking about this masterpiece, and you won't be able to shut me up. it's that amazing.
best song iko: life is looking up
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=46418448

mini essay three: illustrative

When asked if ‘clothes make the person’, I had to stop and think a moment. This question runs deeper at second glance, and it allowed me an opportunity to consider why we take fashion and trends into such great account. I believe that clothes do, to some extent, make the person. Take for example, a business person. They would never, ever be taken seriously or be able to achieve any sort of success in the business world of today if they did not dress as per the norm. If they came to meetings with clients and co-workers in jeans and a t-shirt, they become less than expected; a professional. In today’s society, who people are is defined by how they present themselves. This may be shallow, or unfair, but it is the truth of America today. If you see a person walking down the street wearing worn out, dirty clothes, you aren’t going to assume they’re a successful investor or anything of that nature. No, in fact, you’re going to assume they’re a homeless bum who needs to find a job and probably take a shower. Your outer appearance is the true first impression. I believe the best example of this can be seen in high schools. The trends of today- goth, preppy, jock, emo, skater, nerd, what have you - are all perpetuated by young teenagers. Those trends are usually what bring people together as friends. It’s not a very common occurance to see the typical pale, black full-length skirt clad, corset wearing girl talking to the jocks in their American Eagle and Hollister apparel. You don’t usually notice a group of baggy-clothes wearing hood gangster wannabe’s just hanging around with the chess club. It just doesn’t happen that way. Also, the styles people assume in high school seems to be the tell-all for their personality. If they’re one of those kids with the tight skinny jeans and swoopy haircut, they’re a tortured soul that needs to suck it up or face the ‘realities of the world’. If they’re one of the aforementioned jocks, they’re probably stupid, but remarkably good at whatever sport they’ve chosen to pursue. Once you assume a manner of dress, you assume that role that society gives you.
A classmate mentioned that if we were all naked, we’d still be people. I wish I could agree with that statement, but once really thought about, you, as well as I, realize that we’d find another way to distinguish and define ourselves through generalized assumptions, because it appears that at base level, all humans want is a niche to fit into, and are willing to be generalized if that means they’ll be able to identify with like-minded individuals.

a proper introduction

So, two posts later, you finally get my introduction.

Hello, my name is Krissy, and I'm a freshman at UWEC. I'm majoring in creative writing, and considering a minor in women's studies. I'm still at this odd point in my college career where I'm not sure if I should be here or not, so when I have a definitive answer for that, I'll let you know.

I'm a huge fan of music and I spend most of my free time digging through sites like myspace and openstage looking for new bands to promote, since it's always fun to be able to answer 'yes, I have heard of them. They were better two years ago when they were still making music leaning towards techno/house/ska/what have you.' when asked if you've heard of a new and rising band. I'm sort of a hipster in that respect, I suppose. That's the one topic where I like to claim superiority. Otherwise, I'm a pretty humble person. Before haphazardly landing on a creative writing major, I had seriously been considering not going to college at all and instead becoming a roadie for some local band, or going to college just long enough to learn something about human resources and management to be a tour manager.
Like I said, I'm still at the weird point where that might happen.

I also have been noted for being a creative person, and I take great joy in doing artsy things and being an overall nerd about aesthetic beauty.

If you have questions of me, ask them. I simply adore answering questions.
It builds up the ego, you know?

mini essay two: descriptive

My roommate and I, quite tired of the food served in the cafeteria, decided to make a little adventure out of supper by venturing out into the brisk evening air a few days ago. The decision of where to go was easy; my roommate wanted a hamburger, and I was up for anything, as long as it was edible and it wouldn’t kill me. After our short walk, we arrived at Hardee’s, the warm interior a pleasant change from the outside air. We were instantly welcomed by a man, who seemed almost too eager to see us. We returned the affable greeting and set to staring at the board that held images of the food the establishment had to offer. It was rather difficult to choose between the multiple variations of meat, cheese and chicken options, but after some deliberation my friend and I placed our order and proceeded to our table. At this point we started to take notice of the atmosphere, which we found very pleasing. Along all of the walls and on all the dividers between the tables, there were records from bands that we had heard of from our parents, band we listened to during our childhood up until then, ranging from The Mama’s and the Papa’s to the Monkees to The Beatles. We spent most of our waiting time singing (in diverse degrees of awful) various snippets of songs that we knew from the artists we were most familiar with, until the unabashedly friendly server arrived with our food. He placed our orders in front of us, the greasy yet all too appealing aroma wafting to us, begging to be consumed. We ate in a manner comparable to wild dogs, yet with enough grace so as not to embarrass our families, had they been there. My roommate had no problems consuming her burger and oddly entertaining curly fries, but my burger had a tendency to fall apart on me, causing mustard, ketchup, and mayonnaise to stain the wrapper that lined the basket that cradled my food. I blamed the thin bun that encased the marvelously cooked slab of meat, but I’m sure it was my sloppy manner of consumption. Of course, I wasn’t too concerned with the mess, seeing as my friend and I were the only patron’s present at the time, the music from the overhead speakers and the prattle of the employees from behind the counter the only ambient noise. We finished quickly, allowing ourselves time to digest. Neither of us were looking forward to the walk back to our dorm, seeing as we had grown very fond of the warmth of the restaurant. However, I had a meeting to attend, and my roommate wasn’t about to remain alone in the empty Hardee’s. Making a half-attempt at cleaning our table, we discarded our trash and made for the exit, our friend the overeager server bidding us a goodnight and a safe walk home. I believe at that moment, we had decided that, every once in awhile, you need to indulge in an overly-greasy burger and overly-friendly staff with an best friend.

mini-essay one: narrative.

While the teacher lectured, I stared out the window, failing to realize that there were no windows in the lecture hall. Mentally slapping myself, I tried harder than usual to pay attention to what the professor was saying. Something about the vernal equinox, but I wasn‘t aware that I had enrolled in any sort of science course for the semester. In fact, registering for all of the classes that I mechanically attended was a bit of a blur, but I wasn’t about to try and recall the process. There were more pressing issues at hand, like the fact that I was about ready to pass out on the table, professor and lecture-mates be damned. Allowing my head to dip once, I tried to remember how long this class was. Fifty minutes? Two hours? Then again, it didn’t really matter because either way I was still sitting in the lecture hall, still doing my best to not embarrass myself by falling asleep. Glancing around once, I couldn’t help but let my eyes close once. When I opened them again, everything was as I left it, the professor still droning on, the students still doing whatever they were doing, the zombies breaking in through the door. Wait, zombies? I jumped up, trying to think of another exit. At the top of the hall was the fire exit, but when I turned to make a break for it, I was horrified to see more zombies slowly yet surely clawing their way into the room., their putrid grey-green flesh stretched over skeletal frames. I could already smell their spine-chilling scent of dirt and rot. Why was no one else panicking? I looked around for a competent being, someone else who’d noticed our plight, hopefully someone to help me fight off these brain-munching bastards. Much to my horror, I found myself surrounded by the living dead. All of my classmates, now zombies. Stifling a scream, I tried in vain to escape the hordes, but their shuffling steps and eerie moans drowning out any coherent thought. The shuffling was becoming overbearing, louder and louder… Until I realized that the shuffling was not of feet, but of papers and backpacks. I‘m almost sure I made one of those ‘snnrk’ noises one typically makes when waking up, and I lazily looked around. People seemed anxious, their eyes still trained on the professor, but their hands slowly and carefully packing notebooks and textbooks into backpacks. Sighing with relief at the prospect of being able to go home and get some actual sleep and the fact that there really wasn‘t a massive zombie attack to worry about, I joined the rest of my lecture-mates in their quiet endeavor to pack up their belongings. I was pleased with myself, for the most part. I had managed to not sleep for too long, so no one probably noticed, I avoid being asked to answer a question, and I evaded any sort of actual work for the day. I smiled to myself, one of those obnoxiously cocky smiles.
“Alright everyone, I’ll see you on Wednesday. Don’t forget to type up your notes on today’s lecture and send them to your group. Failure to do so will probably result in difficulty with your final project.”
My obnoxiously cocky smile vanished. Notes? On this lecture? Final project?
I’d rather take the zombies.