Woodward Avenue

M-1 or most commonly known as Woodward Avenue has much history on it and a place in most of our hearts. Woodward Avenue was named in honor of  Augustus B. Woodward who was the first Chief Justice in the Michigan Territory. Woodward goes from Detroit to Pontiac spanning 27 miles containing Highland Park, Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, Royal Oak, Huntington Woods, Berkley, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, and Bloomfield Township.

Important Dates:

1909-the stretch of Woodward Avenue between Six Mile and Seven Mile roads became the first mile of road in the world to be paved with concrete.

August 1995- First woodward Dream Cruise

June 13,2002- Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta designated Woodward Avenue a National Scenic Byway.

Famous Locations:

Drive Inn

Teds Drive Inn, located in Bloomfield Hills became a popular destination and it started in 1934 as a lunch wagon.

The Totem Pole, located in Royal Oak and founded in 1954 had a 16 foot totem pole that was handcarved by Ojibiway chief White Wolf. Home of the popular Big Chief Burger.

Comerica Park, located in Detroit and is home to the Detroit Tigers

Also the Fox Theatre and Ford Field are located on Woodward Avenue.

Cruising Woodward

"Cruising" became popular in the 50's and 60's as many teenagers took out their family car down Woodward with their friends and gathered and hungout at the multiple drive inns. Muscle car competitions sprang up and soon Car and Driver Magazine and Motor Trend magazine showed up along with many news stations. In August of 1995, the Nelson House and some volunteers tried to raise money for a soccer field and in return created the 1st annual Woodward Dream Cruise that lets people relive and recreate the 50's and 60's. Now the Woodward Dream Cruise is at its 18th year and takees place on the third saturday of August every year, even though many start cruising way before then.It is the worlds largest one-day celebration of classic cars and brings 1 million people to Woodward and 40,000 cars.

The Cruise

All American Road

 

Rossini: Round 2

I have found a modern version of Rossini's William Tell Overture on youtube, it is a rock n roll cover of the famous song. There are simlarities between this version and the original version. The new version captures the finale as well as Rossini had captured it when he himself comoposed it. It sounds the same as the original note wise just a different way of projecting the notes, by the use of an electric guitar. The powerful  feeling I get from the rock n roll cover is equal as the feeling from the original if not greater. The differences I have found are that this version may be more or less apealing to some because of the type of music. For instance, I enjoy the cover piece more because I am a fan of rock n roll more than I am classical music. Another difference or I believe flaw with the cover piece is that it is not the complete song but only the finale. I believe that the cover piece could have passed up the original or failed as being as good as the original if it were the whole version of the song. It could have possibly changed the entire cover if it were longer.

All in all, I believe the cover is a worthy succesor to the original masterpiece Rossini has created. It is modern which most people like and it also sounds powerful as I have stated above, it captures what Rossini had captured so long ago.

An Example of Art: Hockey Flow

Example of Hockey Flow

According to wikipedia art is "the product or process of deliberately arranging items (often with symbolic significance) in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotion and intellect. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music, literature, film, photography, sculpture, and paintings."    

Hockey flow or hair is part of the game of hockey, its a mode of expression, and basically a sculpture. You start with just short hair and is it gets longer you have to tame it, and style it for the end result or masterpiece. You get a legend status in the hockey world for having sick flow. Not many players can pull it off but when they do its golden.  Its a way a hockey player can express to the world he is a true hockey player.    
 

A New Look at the Gingerbread Man




A version of the Gingerbread Man

 

As I sat in my ELA 11 class, we discussed how fairytales actual meanings are hidden in their stories, and that the fairy tales have been changed multiple times throughout history. I will discuss with you the real meaning of the story the Gingerbread Man through the archetypes in it, and look at the history of the fairy tale.  

There are many hidden meanings in the story of the Gingerbread Man. I will first explore the meanings of the background information of the story, and note the hidden meanings in red are from surlalunefairytales.com and are an outline of the hidden meanings.The story starts in a "little old house", not a big palace, meaning that this is a story for the poor. The little house is located at the "edge of a wood". Woods most commonly represents a source of magic in fairy tales. It is believed the woods in the Gingerbread Man may have caused him to come to life because of the woods possess magic. The old man and woman  "did not have children but wished for one very much" in the Gingerbread Man. This archetype is significant because many folklores are told about people who are infertile, thus the old couple in the Gingerbread Man could be infertile, showing the pattern in fairytales.

The cooking of gingerbread has many meanings in the story of the Gingerbread Man. People bake gingerbread during the holiday seasons and "baking gingerbread" is great tradition in Europe resulting in the practice being common in folklore. The gingerbread man is cut into the "shape of a little boy". Besides being the most common shape gingerbread is cut into, the shape of the little boy resembles the want of a child that the little old women possesses. The gingerbread man was "put into the oven" to be cooked. The symbolic meaning of an oven is a symbol of birth or transformation of life. You cook your food in ovens for the result of the final masterpiece. In the story the Gingerbread Man, the gingerbread man springs out of the oven alive and transformed from a piece of gingerbread to a live, gingerbread man. Thus an inanimate object comes to life, signaling the want the women has of a child.

The gingerbread man ran past the old couple, a barn full of threshers, fields full of mowers, a cow, and a pig. "They could not catch him." The whole story is a chase where much tension grows as the readers wonder about the gingerbread mans fate. The gingerbread man out runs a cow. A cow is not a fast or smart animal, so the cow cannot catch the gingerbread man with speed or its intelligence. The gingerbread man also out runs a "pig." A pig has symbolized greediness, which could be a challenge to the gingerbread man. The pig is not wise and is slow like the cow.

The gingerbread man met his greatest challenge when the "fox" started to chase him. The fox uses his brain to catch the gingerbread man in some stories and his speed in the others. A fox is a symbol for intelligence, cunningness, and slyness.  As seen from above, there are reasons why certain archetypes were picked to create the story of the Gingerbread man.

Throughout history the story of the Gingerbread man has been altered. The earliest versions that appear in print aren’t with gingerbread, they are with pancake. One is “The Pancake” that originated in Norway in the 1800’s and the second was “The Thick, Fat Pancake” from Germany in the same time period. The most popular version in Europe in the 19^th century was “The Fleeing Pancake”. The Gingerbread Man became popular in the United States at time.

When the gingerbread man is running from everyone he shouts different things in each story. The most commonly used one is “Run, run as fast as you can. You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man.” The modern fairy tale of the Gingerbread Man gets into heavier detail on how the gingerbread man is made, probably to get young readers more interested in it.

As opposed to other fairytales throughout history, the hidden meanings in the Gingerbread Man were not as obvious.  As I have proved in my analysis, there are many important meanings that are alluded to.  The women being infertile and the point of the gingerbread man being shaped into a little boy are two of the meanings I have analyzed.  It is also important to take into account the history behind the Gingerbread Man. The transition from the use of pancake to gingerbread in the story highlights the changes that have been made to the fairytale over centuries.  By taking these two aspects into account, it gives the Gingerbread Man a deeper and richer meaning.


The Gingerbread Man has become a character in the Shrek movie series.



My Reflection on the William Tell Overture

The William Tell Overture is written by Gioachino Rossini. Rossini is an Italian music composer who has written much music in his time. His most famous are the William Tell Overture and The Barber of Seville. The William Tell Overture, has been known to most by being the theme song of The Lone Ranger.

Gioachino Rossini

The William Tell Overture starts off slow with deep notes. Then it starts to sound happy with higher not and gets faster and pauses occasionally. When you least expect it, the music is roaring, it makes you feel as if something suspenseful is happening, like a sound you'd associate with being victorious. After the roar, the music goes really slow and calm, in my mind i pictured it like someone was waking up and looking out at their window and seeing the rolling green hills of some country side and birds flying around. Then the most famous part occurs, a battle cry sound, it is very powerful, it goes "dada dut dut dada dut da duh". The ending of this piece has a fast pace, powerful, and gripping.

I am not a person who normally enjoys classical music, i was somewhat mad i had to listen to this because i was like "why do i have to listen to classical music?". But, I enjoyed this piece. I didn't realize this familiar piece was Gioachino Rossini. When I sat down and listened to it, i was like wait a minute i know this piece. I like how the musics tone changes frequently, its not boring it leaves you wondering what will happen next. By far the best part of this piece is the battle cry sound, I imagined myself flying through a field on a horse into battle. If i could rate this piece 1 out of 10, 10 being the best id give it a 9. It was a very cool piece, I suggest you to listen to it sometime.

Sad Summer for the NHL and Fans

The summer of 2011 has not been a good one for the NHL. This summer three of the NHL's enforcers, or tough guys, have suddenly died. Derek Boogard in May, and Wade Belak, and Rick Rypien in August. Some ask if the deaths were related to the players being enforcers, but that has proved not to be the case.

Derek Boogard, or as he was well known, "The Boogeyman", died of an accidential overdose of alcohol and oxycodone. In December of last year, Boogard had a season ending concussion injury while playing for the Minnesota Wild. After that year, the New York Rangers had signed him for a 6.5 million dollar contract. Although Minessota had become his home, he was eager to go and play for the Rangers. While still in Minessota, Boogard had went to a bar the night of his death and returned very late after a night of drinking. Boogard had also been struggling off and on with pain killers since 2009, as a result of his shoulder surgery. That lethal combination proved to be fatal.

Suicide claimed the lives of two other hockey enforcers in August this year.  Rick Rypien had been battling depression for 10 years, dating back to his days playing junior hockey.  His girlfriend died in a car accident on her way to  see him play, and his life changed forever.  Periodically throughout his career, he would take a leave of absence to deal with an "undisclosed personal matter". He was found dead in his home 9 months after his last leave of absence. His suicide was shocking to everyone, considering the fact he was going to play for Winipeg Jets this season. Wade Belak died shortly after Rick Rypien. Belak had just retired from the NHL at the age of 35. He was found dead in a Toronto hotel room, his death was ruled a suicide but no more information has been released.

In my opinion, the NHL needs to stress the importance of the mental states of its players. This a huge problem that can be prevented with proper effort and awareness.