Though shorter than the other workshops and less vibrant, my favorite workshop was  News Literacy. There was no performance, no bright lights, no paintings, no sculptures. But there was bountiful information that could be used to help me during my time at Baruch. Though I missed the latest performance of Voices, the one I saw at the beginning of the semester was very inspiring and entertaining, a testament to the multitude of feelings that arise from starting a new phase in your life. The paintings and sculptures at the Rubin Museum were intricate and telling of the beauty of a past rich in history. Both Voices and the Rubin Museum were good experiences but I don’t believe that they were as beneficial to my academic life as the News Literacy workshop was. Starting college at a time in which technology has never been so fast-paced or easily accessible, always at our fingertips, it’s good to know how to weed out what isn’t going to be useful to us, to know what makes a source credible. This information can be used to write papers, a requirement for most classes here. When attending a school like Baruch that has such a strict policy against plagiarism, it’s very useful to know how to prevent it, especially when it’s done unintentionally. The BBC video about the spaghetti trees reminded me how easy it can be to believe false information when you’re not fully informed of its source. So while it wasn’t the most exciting of our workshops, News Literacy took the top spot for me.

Starting with the basics, I was born in Brooklyn, New York. My mom is Italian and my dad is Ukrainian. I’m what some have called a “cafeteria Catholic”, a Catholic who tends to pick and choose what they do and don’t believe.  A little bit of this, not so much of that. I have an average sized family, an older brother Michael and a younger sister Justine. I have a cat named Mallory and a hamster named Toby. I enjoy baking, speaking Italian, the Lord of the Rings trilogy and historical trivia. These are all very basic, things that someone who hasn’t known me very long might know and therefore not very interesting. However, maybe the most basic thing about me says the most about me. My name is Lenore. It’s from a poem by Edgar Allan Poe called “The Raven”. The poem itself is from the gothic genre and is a little dark but beautiful nonetheless.  It’s about a man who is stricken with grief over the loss of his love, Lenore and is haunted by her memory in the form of a raven. Now I don’t want to drive anyone crazy but I have always wanted to be someone who leaves a strong impression. Like Poe, the poem’s author, it has always been my dream to do this through writing. For me, writing is everything. I live it and I breathe it and I love it. Author Carlos Ruis Zafon said “Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens.” I don’t want to drive anyone crazy. I just want to be a part of this flow of ideas.

Below is a picture of the Simpson’s parody of Poe’s “The Raven” during one of the Treehouse of Horrors episodes.

http://grooveshark.com/#!/playlist/Lenore+s+Playlist+1/77714311

I created a playlist on Grooveshark of my favorite songs, in no particular order.

“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent” ― Victor Hugo

1. The Call by Regina Spektor
One of my favorite lines in this song is “All you can do is try to know
who your friends are as you head off to the war” I think friendship is such a beautiful and important thing that can so easily be so cheapened by just throwing the word around haphazardly. I think that truly knowing who your friends are, who will be there for you, is such a blessing and that same feeling is highlighted in this song.

2. Two Princes by The Spin Doctors
This song has always been one of my favorites. It’s very cute in the lovey dovey sense that he wants to talk to her for hours and buy her flowers but there’s a lot to be said for its deeper meaning of the importance of unconditional love. One of my favorite lines is “Oh, your majesty!  Come on forget the King… marry me! “. He says it with such urgency, putting such stress on the importance of real love over a love of convenience.

3. Sway by Michael Buble
Dean Martin was the original singer of this old-time romance song but I really love how Michael Buble has revamped it without ruining it. His voice really shines through this song. I think the visuals, such as in ” like a lazy ocean hugs the shore, hold me close, sway me more”, are beautiful. The lyrics of a song, and words in general, are very important to me and I love the picture painted in this one.

4. Hammers and Strings by Jack’s Mannequin
Being a very sensitive person, I tend to shy away from overly sad music but this song is the exception. “And my friend calls me up with her heart heavy still.
She says, “Andy, the doctors prescribed me the pills. But I know I’m not crazy, I just lost my will. So why am I, why am I taking them still?” This line is absolutely heart wrenching and while I’ve never reached the point of psychiatric treatment, I think the helplessness at the heart of the song is very relatable.

5. London Beckoned Songs About Money By Machines by Panic! at the Disco
Panic! at the Disco is by far my favorite band. If it wasn’t detrimental to my grade, I’d put links to every album they have and call it a day. This song is a little different from what I usually like by this band but the lyrics are as interesting as the title. “Just for the record, The weather today is slightly sarcastic with a good chance of:  A) Indifference or B) Disinterest in what the critics say”. I love this line and I know it’s become such a cliche but I think it is so important to just live and let live, to do your own thing regardless of what others say.

6. Northern Downpour by Panic! at the Disco
I couldn’t help but add another P!ATD song. This song is soothing in its sound but very serious in its meaning. The song is about how things aren’t always the way they seem and I think everyone, myself included, has experienced that firsthand. ” For diamonds do appear to be just like broken glass to me…Through playful lips made of yarn that fragile Capricorn unravelled words like moths upon old scarves” The singer is saying that the things that we value such as money and fame are dangerous despite how they may seem and that our words that may seem “playful” can be destructive.

7. Hallelujah by Rufus Wainwright
My faith is very important to me and I find this song to be both spiritual and moving, though most people remember it from the wedding scene in Shrek.  The first line which says, “I’ve heard there was a secret chord that David played, and it pleased the Lord but you don’t really care for music, do you?” is my favorite. I find its allusion to a biblical story to be interesting and its message of holding onto your faith through struggles to be a powerful one.

8. Out of My League by Stephen Speaks
This song really doesn’t have a deeper meaning. It’s just a very cute love song.
I find it refreshing and interesting to hear someone talking about outer beauty without objectifying a woman. My favorite line is ” All the times I have sat and stared as she thoughtfully thumbs through her hair and she purses her lips, bats her eyes as she plays,with me sitting there slack-jawed and nothing to say ‘cuz i love her with all that I am”

9.Book of Love by Pete Gabriel
This song is so beautiful. That’s the only way I can describe it.  ” The book of love has music in it. In fact that’s where music comes from. Some of it is just transcendental. Some of it is just really dumb. But I I love it when you sing to me. And you, you can sing me anything” As I’ve said, I love visuals and the idea of an actual book of love and what would be in it is just fascinating and wonderful.

10. Dirty Pop by NSYNC
Yes, you read that right. I couldn’t help myself nor can I really justify this choice. I just love this song. Ending this post on a lighter note 🙂