The kids of Widney High o Los chicos de Widney High, es una agrupación que se formó a finales de los años ochentas. Todo comenzó en la Preparatoria Joseph Pomeroy Widney. Widney, es una escuela para (estudiantes) personas discapacitadas. Un día, se le propuso al director de la escuela que se hiciera una clase para escribir música. El Profesor Michael Monagan, quiso escribir canciones para una obra de la escuela ya que el pensó que a la obra le faltaba música. Después de hablar con la maestra encargada de hacer la obra, se pusieron deacuerdo para llevar acabo este nuevo proyecto. Cuando el director les dio el si, El Profesor Monagan con algunos de sus estudiantes empezaron a escribir ideas. El Profesor Monagan, les asía preguntas a los estudiantes, de que iva hablar el tema? Que angulo se iva a tomar en este tema? Y final mente, alguno tiene alguna posible letra para incluir en la canción? Fue de esta forma que se empezaron a escribir las primeras canciones. Después de haber ayudado a los estudiantes a escribir las canciones, El Profesor Monagan grabó las canciones en su computadora. Cada estudiante tuvo la oportunidad de cantar una canción. A todos se les dio una copia de los temas que habían grabado. Una de estas grabaciones fue a parar a manos de un productor. Después de algún tiempo, en 1989 se grabo su primer disco que se tituló Special Music from Special Kids. Para este album, se utilizaron músicos de estudio.
Por algún tiempo, el grupo tocaba en eventos escolares. Poco a poco adquirieron fama. Empezaron a tocar en clubes alrededor de Los Angeles. Con el tiempo, los integrantes fueron cambiando 10 años despues los nuevos chicos hicieron el segundo álbum que llevó por nombre Let’s Get Busy. Fue este álbum que (llevo) saltó a los chicos al estrellato con canciones como, Pretty Girls, Let’s Get Busy, y Respect. Una canción que fue escrita por Otis Redding, pero que los chicos le adaptáron nuevas letras, re grabaron; convirtiéndolas así, en un himno para las personas discapacitadas. Desde entonces, los chicos an logrado conquistar los corazones de muchas personas incluyendo famosos como Smokey Robinson, Marilyn Manson, Howard Stern, entre otros.
Los chicos, ya tenían su propia banda, y hasta comenzaron la filmación de un documental sobre la banda. Otros años tuvieron que pasar para que grabaran su tercer disco. “Act your age”, fue grabado en el 2003. La banda cosecho mas éxitos como, Life Without The Cow, I Make My Teachers Mad, y Act Your Age.
Los chicos lanzaron otro disco con canciones grabadas en vivo. Su mas resiente disco que fue lanzado en el 2008 se titula. "Live at the Key Club." También participaron en la película, “The Ringer.” Que salio en 2007. Además, ellos ya tienen una línea de ropa llamada Better Bacon, un comico llamado Beond the Sky is the Limit. El documental en el cual an trabajado por varios años, se estrenara en varias ciudades de los Estados Unidos.
Aun con discapacidades físicas, estas personas les an venido demostrando a las personas no discapacitadas que cuando se quiere se puede, y no importan las discapacidades que tengan.
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Cuba, A new person ahead
Fidel Castro, One name that will be in the history books forever. Love him or hate him, He has done things that probably very few other people have done. For example, he said that he was not going to be doing what the US wanted. He did this not only by words, but also with actions. A few years ago, I co wrote a song titled, “Two faces on Fidel.” The song is about how Cuba was before Fidel became a dictator and how it had changed during his years in office. It also talks about some of the things that Fidel had to go through to keep his country the way it is now. Also, the song asks a question. “What will happen to Cuba after Castro?” Now, this question is probably in everyone’s mind since he retired. Another question was, “will they be our foe or friend?” Do they think that we are all bad because of what the US did to them years ago? It will be interesting to sea if Cuba will be a bit free. Will Raul be like his brother? Only time will tell. It will be really sad if the country remains the way it is now. I think that the US has to be blamed for part of the situation that Cuba as well as other countries, are in. I will talk about it on another post. I believe that Cuba needs to be free. It is interesting to sea that here we have two countries that are different. Cuba is a country that has little or no freedom. Just recently, they were able to purchase Cell phone contracts, and they were really expensive. This did not include the Phone. This demonstrates that the government thinks that it knows what is right for the country. On the other hand, we have the US trying to make believe that the system that they use is the right one. If we want respect, we need to urn it. Let the US government stop forcing our ways on other people’s throats.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Review of "The Chosen", a novel.
The Chosen is a book written by Chaim Potok. It takes place in Williamsburg Brooklyn New York in the year of 1945.
The book is written in the first person. It starts by a person talking about a boy named Danny, And describing his community which according to him, it is largely Hasidic. He also talks about the school he goes to, which he calls a yeshiva and how it is different from other schools. He attends a parochial school, and here is Where he is exposed to courses in Hebrew and English. I was becoming aware that the person who was telling the story, was Jewish by some language that he was using. I found out that he was an orthodox Jew.
Then, the book moves on to where the unknown character and other people are talking about a game that they are going to have with another team. The character plays for a Softball teem. A boy by the name of Davey Cantor warns the narrator that the members of the other team are murderers. The character Does not believe this, and he thinks that this game is going to be easy as he is seeing how the other team is practicing.
As the game starts to progress, there seems to be some kind of hatred between the two teams. It was not the typical hatred that teams have towards each other. They hated each other because the two teams believe in two ways of Judaism. For example, The narrator’s team is referred as the apikorsim which are the “secular Jews.” and the other team is referred to as the Hasidim. The differences are that the Hasidim believe that Hebrew is a holy language and should not be used to teach classes.
This hatred between the teams reminds me of the different groups that are there in Judaism. They disagree with one another. I believe that some of these things are very small. For example, the traditions. Some jews, will follow traditions, but they do not believe in god.
the Hasidim seem to follow their customs. They are dressed in a specific kind of uniform. The apikorsim are a group that are dressed casually and speak English instead of Yiddish which is a mixture of German and Hebrew.
At this point, I was introduced to some of the characters. The person who was telling the story is a 15 year old boy named Reuven Malter. Also, there was Danny Saunders whom also is 15 years old, and who is a boy from the Hasidic team. Furthermore, he was the boy whom Danny had introduced earlier. Davey Cantor, is Reuven’s team mate as well as his classmate. When he finds out that Danny and Reuven are friends, he does not approve.
During the game, Danny hit Reuven with a ball breaking his glasses and bringing Reuven to the ground. Reuven had to be taken immediately to the hospital. It is mister Galanter his softball coach, that is with him when he is admitted into the hospital. Already in a hospital room after two doctors check his eyes, Reuven finds out that he has a glass in his left eye.
In the eye ward, Reuven meets Tony Savo, and he is referred to as mister Savo whom also has one bad eye. He also meets a boy by the name of Billy. He later discovers that Billy is blind. These two people, help Reuven feel a bit at ease. It seems as if when one of the two people is speaking about their lives, Reuven’s problems are small in comparison.
I felt as if Reuven as well as mister Savo, were a bit scared to interact with the boy. This could be because they were afraid to say something wrong that could hurt him. I think that because of this, Reuven starts getting worried about his own condition. He wonders how it would be to be blind. At times, he seems to be depressed.
One day, Danny goes to visit him, but he throws him out. After Reuven tells the story to his father, whose name is David Malter, and whom he calls aba, he says that it was not nice what he did, and he should listen to what the boy has to say. When Danny goes for the second time, Reuven apologizes. After a few minutes of talking, Danny explains to Reuven that he wanted to kill him, and he was very sorry for trying to do that. During the next few visits, they are already calling each other by there first names. Also, it seems that a friendship is starting to blossom.
During his stay at the hospital, I learned that Reuven’s father is a teacher. I also learned that Reuven likes math and although his dad wants him to become a mathematician, he wants to become a rabbi. Danny on the other hand, is a Hasidic Jew, and he does not seem too happy with the way his life is going. One of the sad things about this story, is when Danny reveals to Reuven that he does not speak to his dad except for when they are studying the Talmud. Danny is someone who wants to do something else, but he cannot because of the rules that he has to follow. He has to become a Rabbi although he wants to be a psychologist. Because He gets board of reading the Talmud, He spends his time in the library. This is where he meets a man and he recommends different books to the boy. Because Danny has a photographic memory, he is able to read many books, and he is also able to understand them very well. Later, I find that the man whom Danny had been talking to is Reuven’s father. As Reuven begins to recuperate, the hatred that the two boys had for each other starts to fade away.
A few days later, after Reuven is out the hospital, Danny’s father is introduced. He is a leader in the Hasidic community. Some Jews followed him after he made possible a trip to the US which took them out the country they were living in. He is pleased that Danny and Reuven are friends, but disapproves of the work that mister Malter is doing.
There were a few things that I liked about this book. One of them is that the descriptions were very good. Also, the book gives background information about almost all the characters which allows the reader to understand each character very well. This background information also answers some of the questions that the readers might have about the actions of a character.
I am able to identify my self with two characters. The first one is Billy because he is blind. As a blind person, I believe that the character known as Billy was portrayed very well. He asked a lot of questions which I believe was a good thing. Although this is a fictional story, which took place over 60 years ago, It still reflects how people feel today about blind people. I felt bad for him because he did not know what people thought of him or how people were looking at him. Another character that I identified myself with was Danny. I felt as if he was forced to do something he did not want to. A lot of people, who work with people with disabilities, want them to do a specific task. The person has no say on the choice because by the time he or she has reached the point that he or she could make decisions, they already have been brainwashed and have been given too much medication to stop the person from moving forward. Another thing that I have in common with Danny is that like him, I am also interested in psychology. I felt as if danny needed his dad to talk. This would have been good for him. I also feel the same way that Danny felt when he did not talk to his dad, very alone. Almost at the end of the story, Reuven’s father asks Danny If and when he has children, is he going to treat them the same way that his father treated him. Danny tells him that probably he will.
Unfortunately, we have a cicle. I was able to tell that although danny will finally become what he always wanted, He did not learn the most important thing.
This book was made into a movie which I have not seen. I hope it is as good as the book is.
I would have liked it if Reuven would had kept in contact with billy. It is sad that he only made one attempt after he got out of the hospital. I believe that this friendship would have benefited both of them. Reuven would had learned that there are more important things than seeing. He would have been able to understand things much better. For billy, Reuven could have been his best friend. It was very important for Reuven to be there for Billy. He could have given him strength, and He would had become Billy’s eyes.
I would definitely recommend this book. By the end of this book, the reader will have a greater appreciation for the small things in life and he or she will have a better understanding of the Jewish religion
The book is written in the first person. It starts by a person talking about a boy named Danny, And describing his community which according to him, it is largely Hasidic. He also talks about the school he goes to, which he calls a yeshiva and how it is different from other schools. He attends a parochial school, and here is Where he is exposed to courses in Hebrew and English. I was becoming aware that the person who was telling the story, was Jewish by some language that he was using. I found out that he was an orthodox Jew.
Then, the book moves on to where the unknown character and other people are talking about a game that they are going to have with another team. The character plays for a Softball teem. A boy by the name of Davey Cantor warns the narrator that the members of the other team are murderers. The character Does not believe this, and he thinks that this game is going to be easy as he is seeing how the other team is practicing.
As the game starts to progress, there seems to be some kind of hatred between the two teams. It was not the typical hatred that teams have towards each other. They hated each other because the two teams believe in two ways of Judaism. For example, The narrator’s team is referred as the apikorsim which are the “secular Jews.” and the other team is referred to as the Hasidim. The differences are that the Hasidim believe that Hebrew is a holy language and should not be used to teach classes.
This hatred between the teams reminds me of the different groups that are there in Judaism. They disagree with one another. I believe that some of these things are very small. For example, the traditions. Some jews, will follow traditions, but they do not believe in god.
the Hasidim seem to follow their customs. They are dressed in a specific kind of uniform. The apikorsim are a group that are dressed casually and speak English instead of Yiddish which is a mixture of German and Hebrew.
At this point, I was introduced to some of the characters. The person who was telling the story is a 15 year old boy named Reuven Malter. Also, there was Danny Saunders whom also is 15 years old, and who is a boy from the Hasidic team. Furthermore, he was the boy whom Danny had introduced earlier. Davey Cantor, is Reuven’s team mate as well as his classmate. When he finds out that Danny and Reuven are friends, he does not approve.
During the game, Danny hit Reuven with a ball breaking his glasses and bringing Reuven to the ground. Reuven had to be taken immediately to the hospital. It is mister Galanter his softball coach, that is with him when he is admitted into the hospital. Already in a hospital room after two doctors check his eyes, Reuven finds out that he has a glass in his left eye.
In the eye ward, Reuven meets Tony Savo, and he is referred to as mister Savo whom also has one bad eye. He also meets a boy by the name of Billy. He later discovers that Billy is blind. These two people, help Reuven feel a bit at ease. It seems as if when one of the two people is speaking about their lives, Reuven’s problems are small in comparison.
I felt as if Reuven as well as mister Savo, were a bit scared to interact with the boy. This could be because they were afraid to say something wrong that could hurt him. I think that because of this, Reuven starts getting worried about his own condition. He wonders how it would be to be blind. At times, he seems to be depressed.
One day, Danny goes to visit him, but he throws him out. After Reuven tells the story to his father, whose name is David Malter, and whom he calls aba, he says that it was not nice what he did, and he should listen to what the boy has to say. When Danny goes for the second time, Reuven apologizes. After a few minutes of talking, Danny explains to Reuven that he wanted to kill him, and he was very sorry for trying to do that. During the next few visits, they are already calling each other by there first names. Also, it seems that a friendship is starting to blossom.
During his stay at the hospital, I learned that Reuven’s father is a teacher. I also learned that Reuven likes math and although his dad wants him to become a mathematician, he wants to become a rabbi. Danny on the other hand, is a Hasidic Jew, and he does not seem too happy with the way his life is going. One of the sad things about this story, is when Danny reveals to Reuven that he does not speak to his dad except for when they are studying the Talmud. Danny is someone who wants to do something else, but he cannot because of the rules that he has to follow. He has to become a Rabbi although he wants to be a psychologist. Because He gets board of reading the Talmud, He spends his time in the library. This is where he meets a man and he recommends different books to the boy. Because Danny has a photographic memory, he is able to read many books, and he is also able to understand them very well. Later, I find that the man whom Danny had been talking to is Reuven’s father. As Reuven begins to recuperate, the hatred that the two boys had for each other starts to fade away.
A few days later, after Reuven is out the hospital, Danny’s father is introduced. He is a leader in the Hasidic community. Some Jews followed him after he made possible a trip to the US which took them out the country they were living in. He is pleased that Danny and Reuven are friends, but disapproves of the work that mister Malter is doing.
There were a few things that I liked about this book. One of them is that the descriptions were very good. Also, the book gives background information about almost all the characters which allows the reader to understand each character very well. This background information also answers some of the questions that the readers might have about the actions of a character.
I am able to identify my self with two characters. The first one is Billy because he is blind. As a blind person, I believe that the character known as Billy was portrayed very well. He asked a lot of questions which I believe was a good thing. Although this is a fictional story, which took place over 60 years ago, It still reflects how people feel today about blind people. I felt bad for him because he did not know what people thought of him or how people were looking at him. Another character that I identified myself with was Danny. I felt as if he was forced to do something he did not want to. A lot of people, who work with people with disabilities, want them to do a specific task. The person has no say on the choice because by the time he or she has reached the point that he or she could make decisions, they already have been brainwashed and have been given too much medication to stop the person from moving forward. Another thing that I have in common with Danny is that like him, I am also interested in psychology. I felt as if danny needed his dad to talk. This would have been good for him. I also feel the same way that Danny felt when he did not talk to his dad, very alone. Almost at the end of the story, Reuven’s father asks Danny If and when he has children, is he going to treat them the same way that his father treated him. Danny tells him that probably he will.
Unfortunately, we have a cicle. I was able to tell that although danny will finally become what he always wanted, He did not learn the most important thing.
This book was made into a movie which I have not seen. I hope it is as good as the book is.
I would have liked it if Reuven would had kept in contact with billy. It is sad that he only made one attempt after he got out of the hospital. I believe that this friendship would have benefited both of them. Reuven would had learned that there are more important things than seeing. He would have been able to understand things much better. For billy, Reuven could have been his best friend. It was very important for Reuven to be there for Billy. He could have given him strength, and He would had become Billy’s eyes.
I would definitely recommend this book. By the end of this book, the reader will have a greater appreciation for the small things in life and he or she will have a better understanding of the Jewish religion
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