Songs In Different Tongues

 There is a widespread belief that a language must sound cool if one wants to make beautiful songs in that language. In fact, such a notion is flawed since languages that are known to be notoriously ugly and rough on the ears can produce songs that are loved by millions. German is one of them.

The German language is wrongfully assumed to sound inattractive to the listener, hinting that it can be an unpleasent experience being exposed to German. The existence of the metal band Rammstein solely disproves that. They have created an entire array of some of the best metal songs in their genre. Having been followed by millions of listeners, Rammstein has gathered a diverse fanbase from all nationalities, not just native German speakers. Most of his songs are sung by these fans from the heart, irrelavant of the language’s accoustical character.

Another example to challenge it would be the Turkish language. Turkish is also falsely associated with those languages that sound ugly. Yet, the Turks posit that Turkish is one of the most melodic languages that is perfectly suitable for songmaking. Thousands of Turkish songs are produced every year in Turkey, and songs from previous decades are still listened to widely. The language is so compatible that every music genre that exists today can be found in Turkish music.

Thus, languages and how well they sound to an untrained ear can be misleading. Languages that sound harsh to one can be music to the other. And languages that are thought to be not musical can come up with songs that are listened to by masses of people.

Why We Should Never Let Tech Kill Practical Skills

 

The age of technology has changed our lives forever. We can access information easier than ever. All the things we need pertaining to traffic, media, entertainment, etc. are all digitally available to us. A simple click, and you get a screen that shows how the weather is going to be in your neighborhood.

I totally agree that technology brings convenience, yet it also accounts for the loss of our ability to do things manually. We did stop writing with our hands on real paper because we rely heavily on our keyboards or touch screens to type a simple message. We follow our cars’ navigation systems to find our way instead of reading a city map to figure out a direction.

The grip of our minds on our muscles starts to loosen as we get too lazy, making use of technology unnecessarily. Such can be discerned in kids who are into gaming. These kids lock themselves in their rooms for hours to play video games while their friends go out and play outside. Those who spend too much time in front of the screen will be blunting their practical skills. Whenever they face a task that requires practicality, they will have a hard time accomplishing it.

We should never forget that the technology that we enjoy today was the result of some sort of manual labor. Some tightened the bolts, and some drew the blueprints by hand. We owe it to those who have put all these ideas into practice. We should never let technology itself kill our practical abilities, which we need for further improvement.

Old But Gold: It Is Not Fun Anymore

 

Why is it that we still listen to songs but do not get overly excited about them? Why don’t we have half the joy when we play video games compared to the outset of the video game era? Tools of entertainment have mounted up greatly, yet the joy we get from experiencing them has not evolved enough. In fact, people miss those days when the industry was taking its first few baby steps.

In the 1980s and 1990s, technology was not as advanced as it is today. We used primitive recording devices, which were limited in supply and hard to access. If we had a newly released cassette tape of our favorite music band, we would listen to it for days without a break. We had enormous joy listening to these relics of technology. However, we now have CDs and DVDs, which can hold hundreds of songs each. We can listen to music on our phones, wherever we are. We have too many options to choose from, whereas we used to have a limited supply back in the old days. This makes us avid consumers who do not experience the entertainment but consume it once and never go back again, which saps the potential joy we were to get.

Entertainment has gone so far that each production is seen as something to consume. It has been so monetized that people do not seek joy from a single product of art but instead want to swallow the whole package without tasting. Games, music, and movies no longer serve as treats for people. They are now regular activities to pass the time.

Chess is Getting More Robotic

 

The beauty of chess cannot be denied, yet this beauty has been spoiled by the implementation of technology. Moves that have been memorized and played in a robotic way demolish the sole purpose of the game, i.e., unpredictability.

When playing chess was counted towards a profession that involved all the good stuff like trophies and medals, people started to forget about the real essence of the game. Winning championships and getting awarded medals mesmerized players to such a degree that their way of training is purely focused on winning at all costs. Memorizing the openings and famous historic games move by move happened to be the norm.

Such practices gained popularity with the widespread use of computers in chess. Players working with and playing against computers leaned towards a game plan that is by-the-book and lacks creativity. Players ability to play out-of-the-ordinary moves crafted ingeniously was blunted.

Moves that create havoc around the chess board do not always conform with the textbooks, which adds originality to the game. Playing the game as a human who can make mistakes and wonder at the same time cherishes the century-old prodigy of the game.

However, the latest developments in the chess game, which incorporate technology, have damaged the game. It has lost its very human roots, where mistakes are welcome. Instead, the game transformed into a scripted path where a perfect move is always met with a robotically perfect move.

Chess should be returned to its human way. Computers’ influence on how we play should whine down in order for the board to witness more vibrant and joyful games.

Good Old DSLR Cameras Become Extinct?

 

With the advent of mobile phones that can take pictures, the old way of taking photos with a camera began to die off. Not only did these phones make it easier to take quick snaps, they also made a big leap in terms of the quality of photos. No one seems to bother carrying around a bulky camera when it is way simpler to zip out a phone from the pocket and take pictures of anything.

Mobile phones are getting cameras equipped with state-of-the art sensors that provide enhanced image quality. The latest processing technology enables these phones to process the raw image in order to wash out any defects. You do not have to worry about aperture or exposure since the phone’s processor and camera work together to produce the best quality no matter what the light conditions are.

Some people still prefer good old cameras to take pictures. They claim that the best pictures are taken with a real camera, not with a mobile phone, whose main purpose is not taking pictures. Cameras boast huge lenses compared to the tiny ones in a phone. Big lenses mean a greater amount of light can be absorbed into the machine. Hence, the photograph appears brighter and sharper in the event that the lights are dimmer.

The fact that professional photographers are still using digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras tells us a lot about which one produces the highest quality pictures. However, some may find these cameras to be expensive and not quite comfortable. Mobile phones meet the mainstream need in a very convenient way, and if one wants to try photography a little bit more seriously, he or she should get a DSLR.

On Rural Income

Rural lands are known for their contribution to the national income through agricultural production. Acres and acres of land are allocated for the sole purpose of feeding the population that lives in cities. What if the allocation of resources is disrupted in a way that spoils the welfare of the people living in these rural areas? What if they find that growing wheat, grains, or vegetables no longer sounds profitable? In that case, the villagers or their offspring would flee their homes, looking for new prospects outside their world. Discouraged, they would stop producing food, causing prices of the food to plummet at the country level.

Such a scenario has been coming true in many parts of the world. Masses of villagers move to cities at a greater pace than ever. They find it difficult to raise their family merely by harvesting crops. Family ranches with less than an acre of land barely make ends meet, as it is costlier to practice farming on a small scale. Big farmers with hundreds of acres of land can minimize their costs by making use of economies of scale.

Governments must act in such cases by coming up with policies that can encourage these small farmers to continue producing. Subsidies are one of these policies since they have the potential to raise their income to levels that enable them to keep going.

Small farmers can also form what is called "co-operative farming", getting together with neighboring farmers to produce on a larger scale. Such a practice has cost-saving features that help farmers cope with the ever-rising costs of agricultural production.

K-pop Hype

 

K-pop Artists

It all started with "Gangnam-Style", a Korean song listened to billions of times on Youtube, breaking all the records for most watched music clips of all time. Korean Pop, or K-Pop, created its own genre of music, gathering an avalanche of fans from all around the world quickly. This new genre combines dancing with singing, boasting catchy words and fast tunes.

Korean culture has been attracting a lot of attention for the last two decades. Surprisingly, Korean films were the first to reach the rest of the world. These movies introduced the Korean culture to the audience, helping people get a glimpse of how interesting and diverse the Korean culture is. Then came the Korean TV shows, love stories that have managed to get millions of viewers to glue their eyes to the TV screens.

When they first became acquainted with Korean music, young people enjoyed it almost instantly. They embraced the music right away, impressed by the way they danced and sang. K-pop groups have been followed so heavily that their way of dressing became fashionable among fans. In the eyes of their fan base, K-pop has been a cult, and the artists have been idols.

K-pop’s rise has proven that the next generation wants a change from the mainstream entertainment that has been put forward by the West. They want alternatives to what's been around lately. It appears they have found that in K-pop, and they intend to keep it as a lifelong expedition. The torch that has been kindled by the K-pop stars does not seem to vanish for quite some time from now.