The N-Word stuff

Hey all. It's been forever since I have written anything on here. I have been busy with stuff and life kicked me in the butt and all of this stuff and then school started again. But. I will be posting on here every so often.


I am so bored right now, and so I decided I was going to post the one that I have been waiting to post, but have been too scared of backlash and stuff to post. Now, I just don't care what anyone has to say about this, so I am going to say it. EVERYONE STOP SAYING THE N-WORD! I don't care who you are, I don't care if you end it with -er or -a, it's all bad. The connotation of the word is extremely derogatory, and frankly, the fact that people of the African-American race go around saying it all the time on the grounds of "I'm Black, I can say it" just makes you sound extremely stupid. I don't understand why we would go around making such a thing that has such a serious history so acceptable. I also feel like due to this use of the word by our race, people of other races think they can go around saying it, on the grounds that they were "quoting something they heard in a song". I don't say it, so why should you? THERE. I got this off of my chest. I hope people will read this (HA!) and get something good out of it. The fact that the Black culture is making it an acceptable way of greeting or referencing others of the same culture is one of the most disappointing things I have ever heard.

Com-puh-laining Stuff

Hey all,


I have been so busy lately. Along with that comes lots of complaining. Just about everything. Then I was walking with my friend Jason yesterday when he told me about the scene in the Matrix where some dude is talking about how humans never look at the good side of anything and look at all of the negatives or whatever (Haven't seen the movie, so I don't exactly know what he's talking about), but that kinda made me think about how much I need to just think about how good I have it. Usually, I use this blog as a means of getting my complaints out for the world to read (or not read), but today, I just thought about how much I complain and how it's over unnecessary things. I mean, I am pretty much done with my first year of college (which is a great thing to say), I go to a great school (even though sometimes I feel like it could be way better) and I have a great group of friends and a family that supports me. And that just adds to the fact that I was able to wake up again to enjoy another great day. So I just needed to stop and think about all of this stuff before I let it get the best of me.

I'm Back!

Hi all 8 readers of this...

I have been so busy with schoolwork, I barely have time to do anything I want anymore. But I guess that's the price I pay for trying to better myself, so I can't really complain.


So... I was on Facebook a few weeks ago, stalking an ex-Facebook friend of mine (1. Yes, that is possible. 2. That is all you need to know about her), and to my surprise, I find out that she is expecting a child soon. Now, we will just say that this person is younger than me (If that means anything to you). So, she keeps putting these pictures of her growing bump up saying "11 weeks :)" and "15 weeks :D". First off, if this were my child, that Facebook business wouldn't be happening, with my reasoning being "adults with kids don't have time for this, and you took on this responsibility". But here's the thing that really got me - The amount of comments from peers saying "This is so cute!" or "What kind of kid do you want?" and things of that sort. I feel like this isn't something that should be glamorized like this is and that commenting on these pictures is making it seem like she has a badge of honor. I feel like it's stuff like that and shows like "Teen Mom" and "16 and Pregnant" that put an almost positive light on teen pregnancy, portraying the image of "Oh, she's on TV and doing it and it doesn't look too bad" that kinda make me upset. It doesn't help that sex is now overglamorized, with our women in these music videos with nothing on and all of these reality shows where all they do is talk about how they want to get with Celebrity X. Also, this is in my opinion, one of the biggest responsibilities that one can have, and to take it on at such a young age not only stresses one out, but it also eliminates or makes the opportunities that they are able to have harder, such as go to college or even hang out with friends.


Now, some of you may be like "Wes, just because you're still a virgin, doesn't mean you have to say all of this. You don't understand". Hopefully, nobody says that, but if they do, I just want to let them know that there's nothing wrong with that, despite today's society and messages that seem to belittle those who haven't had sex. More realistically, some of you may be like "This is the time in which she needs the most support, so exiling her would be wrong". First off, I never said to exile her. I just said that those who comment on her pictures are contributing to the glamorization of teenage pregnancy. Think about it, if this were your kid and you were about to become a grandparent before the age of 40, how would you feel?

I feel like a lot of you are gonna take this the wrong way, either because you know who I am talking about or because you feel differently about it. If it is any of those things, or a combination of the two, then too bad. I am entitled to an opinion about this and if you don't like it, don't read my blog anymore. I want nobody to take what I have to say personally.

Basic moral(s) of the story: 1. Wait. 2. If you don't wait, wrap it before you tap it.

Random, nonsensical stuff

This one is not so much random. Today, my friend Robert and I were walking from the Union when we saw the one thing that is extra annoying to me: I saw a girl who was only wearing leggings. Not pants. Leggings. And the worst part was that I could see through them. We will just say that I expressed my unhappiness to my friend Robert, using a few color words. He felt the same way I did, which made me feel better. But it's bad enough she wasn't wearing pants. I discussed this with another friend and she said that "as long as the shirt or dress you're wearing covers your ass, it's good". I somewhat agree with that. I feel like it should cover a little more. But who am I? I'm just some guy who goes to OSU, enjoys staring at women every so often and stuff like that. But there's a part of me who says that it's terrible that women don't cover themselves enough. But I'm done ranting about this, because I wrote about this in an earlier blog post.


Here's a funny one. To the people at Chex Mix: Chex Mix would be 5375138490384139048130 better if you: 1. Added a touch more seasoning to it. 2. If you didn't have those damn squiggly-shaped things in there! It takes away from my Chex Mix experience. I mean, you could put more of the good pieces that make Chex Mix Chex Mix in there instead of those stupid squiggly things.

Life stuff and an addition to Only in America stuff

Hey all 8 Readers (Thanks to the birthday girl, Stephanie Fink for bookmarking my blog! :D)

Anyway, I have been thinking lately about life in general and how it is such a fragile thing and how I never really sit down and think about how I had the ability to wake up this morning and be able to develop my skills in something I truly love. I have also been thinking about the death of Paul. Like I said before, I didn't really know him too well, but for some reason, his death has really had an effect on me. A bigger one than I thought it would. I think it was because he was in my grade and so close to my age and I haven't really dealt with that before. It just really made me think about how fragile life is, and how easily it can be cut short. I thought about that today and realized that one must be doing something right if they were able to wake up this morning.



On a totally different subject, I am adding to my blog post from last time. I do not in any way, shape or form condone underage drinking. I think that it is stupid. Especially these stupid high school girls talking about how they got drunk over the weekend. Nobody cares how much you threw up. You're 15. My blog post was only saying that America should consider lowering the drinking age to avoid stuff like that. I feel that if it got lower, people wouldn't ask "what's it like to be drunk?" and do it. I feel that it would be done in moderation. I mean, people would slip up a couple of times, but they will eventually learn their lesson. So now that I am done defending my last post, who wants to pound a Bud Light with me? (That was a joke. Just making sure you know)

Only in America stuff

Hey all 7 readers of my blog,

I was thinking about some things tonight. I was on Facebook, where I got an invitation to an event. This event happens to be at a bar. One thing I've noticed lately is that bars like to charge extra for those under 21, since they won't make as much off of them because they can't purchase alcohol. At first I thought "Well, this is stupid. Is this their way of trying to get those under 21 to not come to their bar and pushing away money?" I only thought that because as a person under the age of 21, I feel that if I have to pay extra just to listen to a band, and the fact that I came to their place of establishment isn't enough for them, then I just won't go there. Then I thought about when I visited Peru over the summer and how their drinking age is significantly lower than America's when I realized that America is the only country that gives a flying (expletive) about the drinking age. I feel that they are trying to hide something or it benefits someone with power in the end. I mean, it is flawed in so many ways. 1. How does it make sense that I can take a 5 hour drive (Need that 5 hour energy to avoid that 2:30 feeling... Anyways) to Canada and drink there, but I can't down here? 2. This one is so played out, but holds so much truth: How is it that an 18 year old can go to war, and come back with a leg and a few fingers missing, but can't have a beer? 3. It is pointless to make the drinking age 21, because access to alcoholic beverages becomes exponentially easier to access when one goes to college. I mean, think about all of the kids that party. There is no way that all of them are 21. There is also no way that the ones who are under 21 are just there without having a beer. (Not saying there aren't, but that's usually not the case). But since I am just a lowly college student and I am not in any way above the law, there's nothing I can do except whine about this like a little (expletive).


Also, America is ungrateful and is the only country in the world that doesn't appreciate Jazz music (Ironic, since it came together in America), but that's another story)

Music teaching stuff

Hey all.

I have recently decided that I want to double major in Jazz Studies and Music Education. I feel like there is so much wrong with the way music education is run in schools these days. I also decided that it'll give me more opportunities down the road for employability because I will be able to teach in a school and play gigs. And, the requirements aren't that much different. Sure I'll graduate a year later than everyone else in my class, but OSU is paying for it, so I don't care.


Anyways, I am going to rant about what I feel is wrong with the music system in schools. First things first, there is not NEARLY enough funding from schools to give the programs what they need, which I find unfair. It is just as academically taxing as a math or science class. I mean, sure they are different, but in the end, they all require skills that not everyone has, and I don't think it's fair that it's just pushed off to the side like that. I mean, there are so many opportunities out there for students, but they just don't feel it is that important. Like, how is it fair that athletes get to miss some class to go warm up for a sport, but a budding musician can't go to an event, because it's during school?

Secondly, there is that stupid saying "Those who can't do, teach (and those who can't teach, teach gym :p)". The way I see it, is if you can't do it, then get out of here, because if you cannot do it, then you are only gonna pass on your deficiencies to your students. That's why I feel that more solid musicians should do Music Ed, and if they do, they should not quit practicing. I mean, of course, you have to take applied methods classes for all of the instruments to be able to help the students out, and you may not always be hired in your area of concentration (teachers are certified to teach band, orchestra, and choir), but this is not a reason to be bad at your primary instrument.

Thirdly (I feel like I made up this word, but I don't care), which kind of goes with the second one, is the fact that high school music programs do not prepare one for college or becoming a professional. Most likely (not saying this is always the case, but I feel that it is like this a lot of the time) because a lot of band directors don't play their instrument(s) in professional settings often. I went to a high school with a college prep curriculum, and I took the extra classes and stuff that kind of helped, but then I put in lots of time outside of what I did in high school to prepare me for college and got a taste of what being a working musician is like. Granted, people have different qualifications of what "professional" means in music (mine obviously being different from my band director's, since he told me he wouldn't hire me for anything [not mad, not every day one can say they played for the governor of Ohio]), but still, schools should do more to make the student interested in music as an option for college, instead of turning them away, making it seem like a lost cause. This is also why I dislike things such as OMEA. They don't do this. And they rate the performers on whether the music sounds "correct"; but who is to tell if music is "correct" or not? That is one of those things that is open to interpretation. As much as one may say otherwise, you get rated on performance. That is enough for me.

This one is kind of more towards what I really want to do, which is direct high school jazz ensembles and big bands, but since schools are cheap and don't put money into their programs, they will only hire a versatile director. There's also another reason behind why I feel schools don't put as much emphasis on jazz music, but that is debatable to some (but I agree with it). But if I ran high school jazz class, I would run it one of two ways, depending on how much time I have:

1st way: (Given I only have time with students one time a day)

2 days: Ensemble rehearsal -obviously important

1 day: Jazz improv skills- I am sick of people saying "oh no, I don't do improv.", and band directors not knowing how to do anything about it. This is why I like college - Everyone can do it without a problem.

1 day: Small groups - this is where people get some performance experience - Students would arrange and rehearse themselves and perform for the class at least once a quarter.

1 day: Listening- This is where EVERYONE (regardless of genre) drops the ball. I feel that everyone needs a sense of sound concept in order to be successful in what they do. I mean, how can you know what you want to sound like if you haven't heard something else? It's like getting dressed with a blindfold.

And for the exam, everyone has to show me what they have learned, so they will prepare a piece for the class and perform it. The performance will be graded.

The second way (if I had an opportunity for 2 classes a day)

I would teach a more in-depth improvisation class that I would encourage members of the jazz ensemble to be in, then there would be more time for rehearsal. I would run the ensemble class similar to the first plan, but the improvisation would be more basic. And the improvisation class would cover higher level material (similar to what colleges teach, but with more time) and require lots of time on the instrument.

This is a plan for teaching in a school, which is strange to have, because I am a freshman in college. So this is kind of my idea of what's wrong with music in our schools. I hope that whoever reads this enjoys it.