readings for intellectuals

The Troy High Jazz Ensemble is a small, exclusive group of musicians who practice during fourth hour of the school day. This ensemble consists of two subsections, the horns and the rhythm section. The horns include alto saxophones, two tenor saxophones, two baritone saxophones who make up the sax section, as well as the brass section, made up of four trombones, one bass trombone and three trombones, and four trumpets. Rhythm section, perhaps the most important section, is made up of drums, piano, guitar, upright and electric bass, and possibly vibraphone. Vocalists are also sometimes added as a soloist for vocal arrangements. These two subsections, horns and rhythm, are must combine under the guidance of a director, to produce wavelengths known to an audience as music. Passionate, dedicated, and accomplished, the students who make up the Troy High Jazz Ensemble have worked years to bring to life the little black marks on paper composers have written down years before. The honking ...

The American Dream, a staple of the 1950s, was one of luxury, safety and opportunity. A prominent motif during this time was a pink flamingo, which was a symbol of the “wealth and pizzazz” many Americans hoped to convey. Flamingos are a “subtropical species” that are native to South America, India, and Africa. They are water birds, so they live near lakes, lagoons, and other bodies of water. These birds have been respected in their natural habitats for ages, with ancient cultures worshiping these animals as gods. It was only in the 1950s that the bird migrated somewhere it had never been before. The flamingos began “wadding across an inland sea of grass” as American made plastic, brilliant pink variations of these birds that decorated suburban lawns. By using this ancient, special motif as a ornamental lawn decoration, Americans once again hope to capture the wealth and importance an object has. What was once symbolized “the sun god”, one of the most important gods, in ancient Egypt ...

Brushing teeth, or, as described by Horace Miner, “a mouth-rite… of inserting a small bundle of og hairs into the mouth, along with certain magical powders, and then moving the bundle in a highly formalized series of gestures”, is a daily routine many people consider monotonous. This bring under scrutiny the daily practices carried out by many, if not most, Americans. The practices Americans carry out every day, like brushing teeth, can be described as barbaric just as Miner did. This barbaric description carries an odd connotation to the practices that are common place in many American lives. With just a change in description, the whole connotation of the practice has been changed. This emphasizes the power of descriptions and the impact they have on the connotation. When described as a normal practice, brushing teeth seems commonplace. With a barbaric description from Miner, the practice seems very odd, just as ancient rituals sees odd to modern society. This brings up the questi...