Blackened
By: Metallica

Blackened is the End
Winter it will send
Throwing all you see
Into obscurity

Death of Mother Earth
Never a rebirth
Evolution's end
Never will it mend

Never...!

FIRE
To begin whipping Dance of the Dead,
Blackened--is the--End!
To begin whipping Dance of the Dead,
Color our world Blackened!

Blistering of Earth
Terminate its worth
Deadly Nicotine
Kills what might have been

Callous frigid chill
Nothing left to kill
Never seen before
Breathing nevermore

Never...!

FIRE
To begin whipping Dance of the Dead,
Blackened--is the--End!
To begin whipping Dance of the Dead,
Color our world Blackened!

BLACKENED.

Opposition (opposition)
Contradiction (contradiction)
Premonition (premonition)
Compromise
Agitation (agitation)
Violation (violation)
Mutilation (mutilation)
Planet Dies
Darkest Color
Blistered Earth
True Death of Life
(termination) Termination
(expiration) Expiration
(cancellation) Cancellation human race
(expectation) Expectation
(liberation) Liberation
(population) Population laid to waste
See our Mother
Put to death
See our Mother die

Smouldering decay
Take your breath away
Millions of our years
In minutes disappears

Darkening in vain
Decadence remains
All is said and done
Never is the sun

Never...!

FIRE
To begin whipping Dance of the Dead,
Blackened
is
the
end!
To begin whipping Dance of the Dead,
FIRE
Is the outcome of hypocrisy,
Darkest
poten--
cy!
In the exit of hu-ma-ni-ty,
Color our world Blackened!

BLACKENED.




This song is protesting mistreatment of the Earth. It mentions the use of nicotine, and makes some possible references to forest fires or some type of deforestation. This song is a way of informing people that humans are ruining the Earth and that it needs to stop. It has a very pessimistic and almost demonic view of the world due to the way humans treat it. According to the artist, if we continue our ways of life and mistreatment of Mother Earth, the world will be "blackened" and stipped of life. At one point in the song, it says that the planet will die and it will be the "true death of life". This song is very powerful and is an effective way of conveying this message. It uses anger and types of scare tactics to sort of force people into understanding the severity of the Earth's condition, and to make people imagine what the world will be like if we don’t stop harming it.

I think that, today in America, in 2010, men and women are mostly equal. Since before the women's movement, and even during, many changes have been made in the way women are treated in the work force, the field of education, and just in general. Not to mention the fact that a countless number of women have risen to power since then. It is not uncommon to see powerful women in politics, the air force, the army, the navy, and so on. Looking at an even smaller scale, women are also found as judges and lawyers in courtrooms, as principals, college professors, doctors, etc. In today's society, if a man and a woman with the same education apply for a certain job, they both have an equal opportunity to get that job, regardless of their sexes. It has been said that women are still viewed as unequal because there is still that image of a house wife who cooks, cleans, and takes care of the children. Well, in my opinion, if a woman cooks nightly meals, cleans the house, runs the errands, takes care of the children, and holds a steady, full-time job, then she may even be more powerful than her husband is. Sure, there is always going to be an element of sexism, much like, in my belief, there will always be an element of racism, or any other type of discrimination. I don't think it's possible to entirely eliminate any of that, unless someone somehow rids the world of ignorance... but that's a whole other argument. I'm not going to say that women are 100% equal to men everywhere at all times, because then I know that's not the case; however, I do not believe that women are drastically less superior than men, nor do I believe that they are viewed that way (although some people may disagree with me). I think that there is always room for improvement on any issue. I think it's safe to say, though, that women in America who deserve respect, receive it. There are always exceptions or certain circumstances where that is not true, but I think that happens with just about every argument.

Butter Battle Book

So the Yooks and the Zooks stared across the wall

Both threatening the other, trying their best to stand tall

And both the Yooks and the Zooks threatened to drop the ball

To see who would prevail once and for all

As the citizens stood by and watched the horrific scene

They wondered who would back down, and who would be mean

"Who will drop the bomb and settle the feud

Between the Yooks and the Zooks about buttered food?"

I watched and anticipated a loud booming sound

I covered my ears and looked all around

Waiting for a bomb to destroy the whole town

Of the evil Zooks who eat bread with the butter side down

Just as Grandpa went to set off the bomb,

He paused for a second and began to look calm.

"Why," he asked, "must we continue this fight?

We should all be friends and sing through the night

About how we nicely solved this great problem

About butter on top vs. butter on the bottom."

So the people on both sides of the wall cheered

As they embraced kindness instead of fear

The people of the town broke down the wall

To settle this quarrel once and for all

So from that day on the Yooks and the Zooks

Were friends and never had to settle another dispute

Because all that was present was kindness and glee

No matter on what side the butter may be.

Depression 2009 blog post

Although I have not thought about it too much, I don't think America will ever go through another great depression. I definitely think that our country has severe economic problems; however, people are more aware of these problems than they were before the Great Depression, and there are many actions being taken by the government to help improve the economic struggle that we're in today; actions that could not be taken in the 1920's because some of the programs that are available today were not available before or during the Great Depression. If our country were to fall into another great depression, I would have to sacrifice all the unnecessary luxuries and all the unneeded activities I partake in. I might have to get rid of my television and my computer; I would no longer be able to purchase nonessential things such as coffee, gum, new shoes, new clothes, snacks, books. I would probably have to get rid of my cell phone because I wouldn't be able to afford the bill, I might even have to give up my cats because I wouldn't be able to afford their food and litter. My family might have to move to a smaller house or an apartment, and I might not have a decent meal every night. My family would probably have to give up the cars or at least one of them because gas is so expensive; I might even have to stop going to school if my parents couldn't afford to take me there every day. If my dad lost his job my family would really suffer because he is the only source of income in my household. My family might literally starve or freeze to death because we wouldn't be able to pay for food or the heating bill, or any bills for that matter. According to the author, the world in a 21st century depression would look much different than it did during the 1930's because "we are separated from the 1930's by decades of profound economic, technological, and political change." The author believes that a 2009 Great Depression would be "largely invisible because people would experience loss privately, not publicly." I tend to agree with this for the most part; people don't like to voice their struggles, especially when it comes to money. I think that, if the depression got bad enough, though, it would be far from invisible, and not as subtle as the author would make it out to be.

Prohibition in Springfield: Editing a Scene

One scene that I probably would have changed in the episode to make it more historically accurate would be one of the very first scenes: the St. Patrick’s Day parade. The producers made it seem like the reason behind the desire for Prohibition was that kids were getting drunk, and that was definitely not the reason Prohibition started in the 1920's. It really started to eliminate "bad" things such as gambling, prostitution, violence in saloons, workplace accidents, etc. Instead, the producers of "The Simpsons" decided to add a modern twist by letting Bart get drunk at a St. Patrick's Day parade and having the townspeople protest it. Also, the judge tried to defend the presence alcohol in the town by saying that all of our forefathers were drunks… and that probably wasn't very accurate. Besides some other scenes that were added in purely for comedic effect and probably could've been more historically accurate, i.e. the scene where Moe's Bar turns into a pet shop, the rest of the episode was surprisingly accurate and fact-based.

Prohibition in Springfield

The producers of the popular Fox television show "The Simpsons" did an excellent job in portraying 1920's Prohibition in Springfield. I would definitely say that the accuracies outweighed the fictional comedy because there were so many elements of the episode that were direct references to Prohibition in the 1920's. For example, speakeasies, or illegal bars, were mentioned and shown throughout the entire episode. Also, the producers made a note of the Mafia paying off the police officers, which really happened during the 1920's. The producers also made it obvious that people were drinking more during Prohibition in Springfield, which also really occurred. The episode also added in the fact that bars were charging more for liquor (although I doubt they were charging $45 for it!) Bootlegging was also added into the episode, and when the company couldn't sell beer they tried to sell soda instead, which was also based on true facts from the 1920’s. The episode was not completely fact, though; some elements were added in simply for comedic effect. For example, using bowling balls to transport liquor secretly, or turning Moe’s bar into a pet shop when the cops rolled around. Overall, though, I felt that the producers did an outstanding job of portraying facts about Prohibition in the 1920's, and the facts definitely outweighed the fictional comedic elements. I really enjoyed this episode; with a few modern twists and some comedic value, it was an easy and enjoyable way to learn about Prohibition in the 1920's.

American Freedoms

During a time of war, it is often critical to aid the war effort, and it is appropriate for one to sacrifice some of his or her freedoms to do so. As Americans, we are blessed with many freedoms; we obtained these freedoms by supporting our American Soldiers as they fought in previous wars. If it will help the war effort, I think it is important for Americans to sacrifice some of their freedoms. For example, if a rebellious American is publicizing bad things about the war, it would be appropriate for the government to tell that American to stop saying negative things about the war, despite his or her freedom of speech. During times of war, America needs as much support from its country as possible, and if the sacrifice of certain freedoms means helping America out that much more, why wouldn't a true American be willing to make that sacrifice for his or her country?