My two favorite anime: What and why?

Lately, I’ve picked up watching some anime again. For those of you who have no clue what anime are: they are Japanese animated series. The most famous ones here in the Netherlands are Pokémon and Digimon and such, but anime isn’t meant just for kids. There are a lot of anime that tell stories about more grown-up subjects and that aren’t as childish as Pokémon. So here I’ll list my two favorites, tell you what they’re about and why I like them so much.

Angel Beats! – This would be my all-time-favorite. Angel Beats! tells the story of a boy, Yuzuru Otonashi, who wakes up lying on the pavement of a high school campus. There’s a girl sitting close to him, equipped with a sniper. She tells him he has died, and that he’s now in a world after death. Wanting to find out how he died – since he lost his memory, Otonashi joins the girl’s rebel group, the SSS: a group that fights against God and the injustice in their former lives.

I like this anime a lot. It manages to handle a lot of subjects; love, action, music and tragedy. It’s an anime that really manages to reach your heart and the ending made me tear up. A great anime overall.

Stein’s;Gate – Also a big favorite of mine. This anime tells the story of Okabe Rintarou, who invents a machine that can be used to send text messages to the past, thus altering the present. He experiments with this, trying to better the life of his friends. However, this drastically turns around when things start to take his loved ones away, and Okabe has to do all he can to get back to the way the world once was, sacrificing what he has accomplished so far.

Once again, an anime that really sucks you in and manages to make you feel along with the characters. You feel their pain and despair, and you’re excited to see  what happens next. This one, again, also made me shed a tear. Besides that, it also involves some action and a more complicated storyline, which makes it interesting to “think along”

1 April Festivities in Brielle, the Netherlands

The 1^st of April, better known as April Fool’s Day. But, in a particular city in the Netherlands, there are some other festivities going on. I’m talking about the town of Brielle. Here, they reenact an important event in Dutch history, which I’ll tell you a little about.

It was during the Eighty Years’ War between the Netherlands and Spain, also called the Dutch Revolt. On the 1^st of April, 1572 the city was captured by the Geuzen (you’d call them the Beggars in English) upon the Spanish. It’s seen as the beginning of the rebellion against the Spanish king Philips II, and the Dutch eventually won the war and established the Republic of the Netherlands.

During the celebration, in the centre of town the streets are decorated by fishing nets and clotheslines, groups are people are dressed in the clothes they used to wear back then, the pubs sell huge glasses of beer and in the street there are fishermen trying to sell their catch, so in the whole city the atmosphere of that time is recreated. Starting in the afternoon, a huge outdoor-play is performed, with mock battles and cannons. The Geuzen brace the city gates and they proceed by marching through Den Briel. In the evening, there’s a Geuzenball, at which the Spanish, the Geuzen and the citizens of Den Briel dance with each other, like nothing has ever happened.

Overall, it’s a funny, amusing cultural event and something that gives the city a little publicity and fame.

Britain's Most Romantic Work of Art - Romeo and Juliet

This is the painting ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by Sir Frank Dicksee. It was painted in 1884 and it is now exhibited in the Sounthampton City Art Gallery. ArtFund, the national fundraising charity for art, had asked over 2,000 Britains, and with 71% of the votes this painting is now officially Britain’s Most Romantic Work of Art. I suppose you all know the story of Romeo and Juliet, and this painting shows the parting scene of Romeo and Juliet after their wedding night. This is also the last time they’ll see each other alive. We see their last, romantic kiss, before Romeo will leave Juliet behind. 

Biography of a famous person: Tim McIlrath

Biography of a famous person: Tim McIlrath

Timothy “Tim” James McIlrath might be someone you’ve never heard of before. He’s not a model, an actor or a famous director: he’s the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the American punk rock band Rise Against. If you’ve never heard of that band either, let me tell you a little about them first.

Rise Against is, as I already said, a punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois. It currently consists of Tim McIlrath (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Zach Blair (lead guitar, backing vocals), Joe Principe (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Brandon Barnes (drums, percussion). The band was formed in December 1999 and their album Siren Song of the Counter Culture officially put them on the map. From then on, they’ve released 3 more albums, Endgame (2011) being their latest one.

The thing that makes Rise Against so special in my opinion, is their political and ethical idealism. All of the band members are vegetarian, support PETA – an animal rights organization – and 3 of them are also straight edge, which I’ll explain later. They’ve also released a song for Amnesty International, and during the 2004 US presidential elections, they were part of the political activist group Punkvoter and appeared on the Rock Against Bush, Vol 1. album. This project raised over $1 million for presidential candidate John Kerry. The video clip of the song Audience of One is said to show a kid playing the role of George W. Bush and clearly shows the bands criticism towards him. Later on, they supported Barack Obama.

Other video clips also show the bands look on certain ‘flaws’ of the current society. Ready to Fall clearly tries to make people aware of things like factory farming and deforestation. And their video Make it Stop (September’s Children) was their shout-out to all children that are bullied, especially if it happens because of their sexual orientation.

Then about Tim himself. Tim was born on the 3^rd of November, 1978 in Indianapolis, Indiana as Timothy James McIlrath. As a child, he was bullied because he suffers from heterochromia, which causes him to have one blue and one brown eye. As a teenager, he attended Rolling Meadows High School, where the music video of Make It Stop (September’s Children) was also set. His friends were interested in snowboarding, so he was saving up to buy a snowboard as well. However, as his interest in music grew, so he decided to buy a Gibson SG guitar instead.

After high school, he went to the Northeastern Illinois University, where he majored in English and Sociology. It was during that period of his life that he met Joe Principe at a concert of the band Sick of It All. Tim was asked to sing the lyrics of a few tracks Principe and Mr. Precision had recorded, and like that Rise Against was formed, under the name ‘Transistor Revolt’. In 2001, they officially named it Rise Against. Before that, he had already played in two bands: Baxter and Arma Angelus. He has also been part of a metalcore side project ‘The Killing Tree’, but they haven’t been really active since 2004.

He’s married to Erin McIlrath and has 2 daughters. He’s only 1.75 meters tall and can be recognized by his short brown hair and sideburns and of course by his heterochromia. On a record, he can be recognized by his characteristic voice.

When talking about Tim, a few things should be mentioned though. As I said earlier, Tim and 2 other band members are ‘straight edge’. This is a subculture of hardcore punk and is about a lifestyle that eliminates drugs, alcohol and tobacco, but also other things that can be seen as potentially addictive. This is something that I admire. The whole rock- and punkscene is often associated with drugs and alcohol, which this culture strongly rejects.

On top of being straight edge, Tim is also a vegetarian – and close to veganism – and he does a lot of things involving the animal rights group PETA – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. He often takes part in PETA protests and he has apperaead in many videos made by PETA explaining their beliefs on veganism and the meat and fast food industry.

However, it isn’t because I have the same ideas as him, that I admire him. I’m not a vegetarian – in fact, I do not care that much about factory farming – nor part of the straight edge culture, although I do agree that drugs, alcohol – when excessively used – and smoking are things that shouldn’t be done. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that it’s unacceptable, because it’s something that everyone should decide for themselves. But personally, I do reject the idea of a life consisting mainly of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. And with reason; just look at all the reports of people who died due to a lifestyle like that.

But, to go back on-topic, that won’t happen to Tim McIlrath, because of his ideas and his beliefs. That is what I admire about him. He is not afraid to state what he thinks and uses his music to tell this to others, without forcing it upon them. Because, even without listening to the lyrics, Rise Against’s music can be very enjoyable – if it suits your taste of music, of course. As one of their listeners, I’m proud of how Tim’s lyrics have the power to make me think about it, to make me consider whether I think he’s right or not, and to make me realise that I agree with what he’s saying. I think that if, as an artist, you can achieve something like that, that it is that quality that makes you truly admirable. I don’t admire artists who create catchy songs, but who don’t manage to get across what they’re singing. Because they do not believe in it themselves. But when I’m listening to Rise Against, listening to Tim, I do believe what they’re singing. And that is wonderful.

"Just because I can't change everything, doesn't mean I shouldn't try to change anything at all." - Tim McIlrath

Review of a Performance

Hello people!

I’m sorry I haven’t posted anything since my introduction, but I just didn’t have anything to tell you. But, surprise-surprise, I do have something to tell you right now! This is also an assignment for school, so let’s get started!

Review of a performance: How to be Orange

Performance: How To Be Orange

Performer: Gregory Shapiro

When: 27th of September at approximately 8 PM

Where: At my own school

Yes, the location is a bit odd, so I feel like a little explanation will be needed before I start reviewing. The thing is, I am, together with a lot of other students, part of the Cambridge ESOL – English for Speakers of Other Languages – program, which gives my English language skills a huge boost. I won’t bother you with any other theoretical chitchat about it, but the point is that I’ve passed my first exam, FCE – First Certificate in English – and this Gregory Shapiro was our guest speaker and performed his show How to be Orange at my school.

The show reflected on the Dutch culture and what it’s like for an American like himself to live in the Netherlands. Some examples are the Dutch language, our typical phrase ‘hèhè’ and how some of our words would be pronounced in English, like ‘Mama, die, die, die!’ and the Dutch names Bas, Job, Tjerk and Freek. Just try pronouncing those to yourself in an English accent, it sounds pretty funny.

But the key of every performance is bringing it in a way that makes your audience find it funny as well. And, judging by the laughter in the school canteen and my own belly that started to hurt from laughing, he did a very good job at that. The performance was funny, understandable and well-put. And not only we, the teenagers, found it funny, but our parents had a good laugh as well.

All together, it was a really good performance and I certainly had a good time. The only downside was that it didn’t last very long. That’s really the only con I can come up with, because all together it was really great and really enjoyable. Gregory himself seemed to be a nice man as well, because he assisted handing out the certificates after his show by calling out the names. So if you’re in for a good laugh, certainly check out one of his shows! He can also be seen on HumorTV and has his own YouTube channel. I hope you’ll enjoy watching him as much as I did.

My Dream Holiday

What would my dream holiday be like? That's a hard question, because there are still a lot of things I'd like to do. I haven't seen a lot of the world yet, so there are so many things I'd still like to visit. So I'll pick one quite big country I'd like to visit: The United States of America. I would like to visit this country because there is so much to do there and I feel like I just have to go there once in my life. Besides that, it’s an English speaking country so it won’t be too hard for me to communicate and get around.
My holiday starts at Schiphol Airport, most likely in the spring when I’ve just finished studying, so then I’ll be like 24 or so. One of the planes takes me – just me, and maybe my boyfriend – to New York. When there, I visit some famous buildings and places: The Empire State Building, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty and I also want to experience what life in the Big Apple is like, because it will be unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
After New York, another plane takes me to Washington – the city, not the state, to admire the White House. Next up is Chicago, to see the city and to be amazed by the size of Lake Michigan.
That’s it for the Northeast of the States. After that I’d go to Florida, to Orlando.  It has always been one of my dreams to see a Killer Whale in person and ever since I was a kid, I've wanted to go to Sea World. It’s kind of childish indeed, but since this is a dream, and money isn't an issue, why not?
So after Orlando, I’m going to Las Vegas, to taste what Vegas-life is like. From there on I’d also go to the Grand Canyon – I heard it looks amazing – and tour around the desert with a car. When I’m done there, the last stop is Los Angeles. I really want to go to Hollywood and take some steps on the Walk of Fame! By the time I’m there, it’ll be summer and to round off the holiday I’d stay there for a while, just relax a bit on the beach and have a lot of fun. 

Welcome!

Welcome everyone!

My name is Cynthia and this is my blog. I have created this blog for school uses, but I might use it for other purposes as well.

First, I'll tell you a little bit about myself. I'm 15 years old and I'm in, as the Americans would call it, my sophomore year, so that means two more years before I graduate from high school. And I certainly need those years, because I have no clue on what to do after high school.
I play water polo, I really enjoy playing my guitar - although it doesn't always sound that well when I turn on my amplifier - and I can "waste", as some would call it, my time for hours by playing videogames. I have a boyfriend and sometimes I work at the local supermarket in the weekend.

That's it about me for now.

See you again soon!