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To Be Read, Or Not To Be Read...

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Okay, so my last blog was about music, it's something that I love very much. Another thing that I love a lot is English (no joke, and I'm not trying to kiss up to the teacher) it's my favourite subject because it's one of the few places where I feel I can voice my opinions about the world around me, and the language I use to communicate with that world.

However, there is one problem I have with English, and I think it's a pretty big one. In English class we always have to read at least one Shakespeare play, and I'm really, really, REALLY sick of it. Seriously there are other "classic" books that schools can read other than Shakespeare! Come ON! What about "To Kill a Mockingbird" or "Moby Dick" or "The Invisible Man"?! Albeit, Shakespeare was brilliant, but so was H.G. Wells and the Bronte sisters!

This really frustrates me because all the good books get completely looked over for one ridiculous reason: Content. Some books are left out of the cirriculum because of sexual innuendo or drug references. But if the school board really knew the material they were putting in schools, they would know that all of that stuff is in Shakespeare's plays! There's a reference to characters contracting an STD in "Twelfth Night" LOADS of sexual innuendo and activities in "Romeo and Juliet" and voilence in pretty much every single tragedy that Shakespeare ever wrote. And Shakespeare wrote a lot of tragedies.

I'm going to end this blog by saying one thing. I'm not trying to terrorize the Waterloo Region District School Board. I'm trying to broaden their minds to other classic books that can be taught other than Shakespeare. Because it's been pretty obvious for a while now that we're sick of Shakespeare, and students won't be encouraged to read if they only read one author.

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Don't Judge a Book by it's Bling

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

If there's one thing people should know about me, it's that music is my life. I'm probably not the first person to say that, but it's true.

I love almost every genre of music ever created. However, I've been listening to a lot of Hip Hop lately. I know there's a lot of controversy around Hip-Hop and I thought I might adress some of it for my first blog.

For years, Hip-Hop's worst fans have been the parents of the children who are buying these albums. They say that the language is too rough, or it exploits women, or they don't have a real message. To some extent I agree. However people have to understand that these assumptions do not represent every artist in the Rap and Hip-Hop genre. For example, I've been listening to a Hip-Hop artist named Shad who has a song called "Brother Watching". This song is all about how young African Americans have low expectations of themselves because of the way they are percieved in the media. Irony much?! For Hip-Hop veterans who have been listening to the genre for years, you may be familiar with a little group named Public Enemy. They have a song called "Fear of a Black Planet" which is about people who are afraid of African Americans because they think they're out to take over the worldm, when really all they want to do is live their lives like everyone else.

I can't ignore the fact that there is inappropriate Hip-Hop music out there, and I don't. One of the big things that bugs me about Hip-Hop is the use of the "N" word.

This word has a very dark and terrible history and for people who, at a certian point in history were the butt of this word to use it is completely wrong in every way. Some artists will argue that they deserve the right to use it now since it was used against them so long ago. However I think it is sending us back in time, and it's allowing other people to call African American people that word.

So in conclusion, don't judge Hip-Hop. I'ts not as bad as you think. If you really look you'll find some real gems, and trust me you won't regret it.

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