My Geography Map

I chose to do my Geography project on Music! I decided to choose unexpected places where you would find music! I have quite a varied taste in music as sometimes I enjoy listening to modern songs but other time I love to listen to older music eg: Motown!
I have written about the links between the countries and about the music in my map. In my blogs I decided to write about the geography of the area and a general summary of the musical influence.
I love music and I really enjoyed doing this project as I got to combine geography /IT with the subject I love, music !!!
I have decided to post all my geography posts together so that it will be easier to read and that when I am looking over my blog I will remember how and what the project was about!
I hope you enjoy my project !

My final Stop! : Mali!

Final Stop : Mali!

So I am brought to Mali as this is one of the many countries in West Africa that the jembe originated from. The jembe is a skin covered drum that is played with the hands. According to the Banama people the drums name come directly from their saying 'Anke djé, anke bé' which translates to : 'everyone gather in peace'. This is what the purpose of the jembe is!

It is said that the jembe was created by blacksmiths that were know as Numu , but because of Numu immigration the jembe traditions and the instrument itself has spread across Western Africa. The construction of the jembe is one of fine detail but their are also many industrised and synthetic jembe drums made across the world.

Mali is a land-locked country in Western africa. It has a population of 14.5million and its capital is Bamako. Traditionally a jembe is crafted from a section of a Lenge tree. This tree was always used for centuries due to its acoustic and spiritual qualities. This is not always used though, the type of wood usually depends on the makers access to the different types of forests. The trees in Africa survive through the range in climate. The weather in the south is usually tropical and in the north it is arid (dry,lack of water and therefore development) . Most of the country suffers from spells of drought and also severe rainfall.

A large part of Mali's economic struture is based on agricultural. It is one the ten poorest nations of the world and subsistence agriculture (producing just enough food to survive on) is usually how the people survive. With this animals are farmed, this makes it easier for the drum makers to get access to materials for the base of the drum. The drumheads are typically made from goat skin and more rarely can be antelope, zebra, deer or calfskin.
The geography,culture and music link in very with each other. I hope to one day visit this country and experience this all for myself :)

My Fourth Stop : St.Wolstans Community Schools

My journey brought me back home again , but not for long! Here, at school, my own music interests were educated! Though we are all influences by the big cities and lights of America and the likes, I found inspiration right at home ! Here I discovered all about the jembe, STOMP and other types of music as explained on my map!

The population of Celbridge is 17,262 and the 3rd largest town in Kildare. We know it is a dormant town , where most people commute to and from work in Dublin! It is a town that has grown in recent years. With the development of good access roads to Dublin (for example the Celbridge interchange; Junction 2a of the M4). The opening of schools and industries such has Intel were a pull factor to many people and as a result there has been a large increase in the residential aspect to Celbridge's growth.

Here in room the music room at aprox. 1.50pm I saw the video of STOMP ! At the time we were having a music workshop with David. He was showing us how STOMP expresses and performs rhythms.
At this workshop ,it was the first time I had seen a Jembe. And when we started playing I instantly loved it! I always had an interest in the drums but I always found them way too noisey and very bulky. So for hours I was happy banging along on the jembe and I truly loved the session.

My next journey then led to me to Mali!

My Third Stop : Coco Cola Headquaters, North Avenue corner

Next, I was off to the America! And I was off to Coca Cola headquarters, not to buy the drink but the music! Advertising and music go hand in hand these days! I hear many of my favorite songs on advertisements alot more then ever before! Here Coca Cola develop many of there ideas for there advertisement and recently they have become more famous for using music in there advertisement!

One advertisement featured a unique group called 'STOMP'! STOMP is a unique combination of percussion, movement and visual comedy! The name probably rings a bell or two, as they have a world tour and have been widely advertised. But one of there first big exposers was a Coca Cola advertisement 1996! Being on an advertisement was a great boost for there careers as is a big influence in the western world and it has a population of 308,745,538 people!

America is known to be the headquarters of music. This I believe is due to the money that can be made in music and America is/was a very wealthy area!

It's located in Midtown Atlanta Georgia. This area is the second largest financial district in Atlanta. This I believe is why Coca Cola placed there headquarters there. It is a very high rise city, with the HQ being one of the most visible building. It is 29 stories high! The area also is home to institutes of higher education , like the Georgia Institutes of Technology, John Marshall School and the Savannah College of Art and Design. Knowing his, gives me more of an idea why Coca Cola chose Atlanta as a HQ and a area to design there advertisements using music, as they have good access to a educated work force.

My Second Stop : Soccer City Stadium , Johannesburg, South Africa"

'My Second Stop : Soccer City Stadium , Johannesburg, South Africa"? You may be wondering why I have chosen to go there even though my project is on music. Well here (connection from Hawaii and further explanation in map)is where the Fifa world cup was held and for that event has produced many popular songs that captures the essence of the people, the occasion and the soccer.

Johannesburg is the largest cities in Africa, in relation to population as it has 3,888,180 people living in it (estimated). The weather here is subtropical, this means it has dry sunny climate with thundershowers in the afternoons of the summer months. It reaches 26.6 C in January but can drop to 16C in June. It surprised me to find out that Johannesburg has over 10 million trees! it has the biggest man-made forests in the world. As a result lots of deforestation (destruction/cutting down of trees) occurs there!

The stadium itself is located next to the South African Football Association. It can hold a capacity of 94,700 people! But when the World Cup was held there many seats were reserved so it only held 84,490. The stadium has the nickname of 'The Clalbash' as it looks like and African pot!

The arena also holds many concerts, with bands like U2 played there as part of their U2 360 Tour. The Kings of Leon (another of my favorite bands) are set to play there fir the first time in October. And in the stadium during the kick off of the World Cup Sharkia performed the song 'Waka Waka', which was one of the official songs for the world cup :)

Click here to see the performance! I believe this song really captures the essence of afician music and also modern music!

My First Stop - Waikiki

My first Stop is Waikiki in Hawaii, this is the neighborhood that Bruno Mars was brought up in. In my map I talk about the history of this island and all about the journey, but for my posts I will talk about the general geography of the area. Bruno made from this once small neighborhood into the big , flashing lights of America and beyond!

Waikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu in Hawaii, it. Honolulu has an estimated population of 374,658. It lives up to the typical view that people usually have of Hawaii, with its golden beaches, surfing and high rise resort buildings! This neighborhood was once (in the 1800s) a area of retreat for Hawaiian royals. In Waikiki they would spend their time surfing on their long-boards (older form and type of surf board). But the royals would never have guessed that on the 8th of October 1985 a star was born in their town, he was named Peter Gene Hernandez. Who? His stage name is a Bruno Mars! He is now one of my all-time favorite singers! began my trip in Bruno Mars neighborhood. He is one of my favorite singers today.

Bruno Mars (real name: Peter Gene Hernandez) grew up in this neighborhood. He began his musicals career very young as he did impressions of Elvis as a child at the age of 4!.

The beach of Waikiki has had many problems with erosion over the years. As a result the people constructed groynes in the sea to prevent further erosion, they also imported beach replenishment project. This means that there imported ships of sand that had been lost due to the erosion. This happened in the 1920's and 1930 where they shipped in sand from Manhattan Beach , California. But this stopped in the 1970's. The officials of Waikiki are still looking for ways to preserving the sand on the beach from tide loss. The area that Bruno Mars grew up in is now a bustling tourist attraction especially during the yearly events that are held there every year , like the surfing and hula dancing competitions. Above are a few pictures to show the beauty and the location of Waikiki :

My English book review!

I read 'Emma' by Jane Austen as part of my book review for English .

The book is about the protagonist's (Emma's) determination to arrange marriages for her friends. The author of this book is the world famous Jane Austen . Jane Austen is known to be a English novelist that writes romantic fictions. She was born into a very tight-knit family and soon she had steady flow of support from her family to succeed as a writer. She began publishing books in her early adulthood, and they were received with great regard. She wrote many other book, which I hope to read in the near future, like Pride and Prejudice. In early 1816 Jane Austen began to feel unwell, though she tried to ignore her illness at first,her family saw her declining condition. She suffered from a physical disease called that is related to drinking unpasteurized milk. She then died in 1817 at the young age of 41.

From researching Jane Austen's life I can definitely draw a connection to her early life and to the plot of Emma. Emma is the protagonist character and she is from a high class in society with strong family bonds just like Jane herself. Emma is a very headstrong, determined individual, this I found were qualities that I admired . These qualities were clearly evident as she began her mission in match making. Emma took it opon herself to match her dear friend (Harriet) with another of her companions (Mr. Elton). She planned everything she could to bring both them together ,she even convinced herself that would marry! I found this part of the novel to be very amusing as Emma even succeed in portraying Harriet to be more intelligent and socially higher then she even was. What I found to be a disappointing trait in Emma is that she judges people on there social status and intelligence. I found that to be quite mean as at one stage in the novel she disproved of Harriet marrying Mr.Martin as she said he was just 'a mere farmer'. Overall the character of Emma was one that was very intriguing and she played a big part in my enjoyment of the novel.

As I have said before, in the novel, Emma develops a liking of match making. Throughout the novel she vowed to find a husband for Harriet and to never marry herself. Little did she know that her love (Mr.Knightley) was just infront of her eyes! I found the way in which Emma finds out she loves him is very amusing. It was all quite complicated , as Harriet had said to Emma that she thinks she has found her love, but to Emmas disappointment Harriet would not tell her who. But one day as Mr.Knightley left for London, Harriet finally told Emma that she indeed liked Mr.Knightley. This shocked Emma and it finally made Emma realise her true feelings for Mr.Knightley. When Mr.Knightley arrived back and visited Highbury he came back with the news that he too was in love. Oh course, Emma thought he had fallen for Harriet and she was then terribly upset, but he then explained that it was Emma he loved! This upset Harriet for a while but soon after did she find herself engaged to Mr.Martin and man that asked for her hand in marriage again!

By the end of the book, things had worked out even better then Emma had ever imagined. Both her and Harriet were engaged and she and Mr. Knightely were staying at Highbury for her fathers well-being and happiness! I liked this book and I would rate it at 7/10.

Geography - My map

I chose to do my Geography project on Music! I decided to choose unexpected places where you would find music! I have quite a varied taste in music as sometimes I enjoy listening to modern songs but other time I love to listen to older music eg: Motown!

I love music and I really enjoyed doing this project as I got to combine geography /IT with the subject I love, music !!!

I have decided to post all my geography posts together so that it will be easier to read and that when I am looking over my blog I will remember how and what the project was about!

I hope you enjoy my project J !

Off we went to Nationals!

On Thursday of last week , Team Éalú went to the national finals in Griffith Collage. When we first entered the conference room , we were stunned by the level of the presentations. We quickly set up our stalls and got ready for the judges that were coming around. I couldn't believe that they re was such a high standard, it was definitely different from the Regional finals. Our first interview was in another conference room with six judges. We were very nervous for this but we were all prepared. When we walked into the room we were all smiling! :) I was so happy as the judges were so nice, though we ran a bit overtime in our PowerPoint presentation. Then we had to wait awhile until our next interview. We then ventured into the restaurant which was full of college people, many were doing work but some were campaigning for collage elections! Then the judges came to our stall and we then spoke about our portfolio of all our work. I felt that went well! In the meantime our car was at scrutinising , when we got the car back we were happy to see that we scored 36/40! But we soon had the race , and that went very bad! Our car was so much slower then in the last round! I was really annoyed about that! :) Then we had lunch ! The food was gorgeous in the cafe and it kept up my energy for the rest of the day! After lunch the scrutineering judge and another judge came around to our table to talk about the manufacturing and the design of the car! A good while later came the results!!! We didn't place but we got a medal for participating in the competition! It was a good day out but I found that it was quite long and I thought the regionals were more fun as the people weren't as serious!

Bog bodies!

Last week we went on a English trip to Dublin. We first went to the natural museum. We saw many of the artefact's that were found in the iron/bronze age. We then went to see the bog bodies! Everyone was so excited to see them and it was one of the highlights of the trip. When I saw the bog bodies I was surprised that I didn't find it upsetting or sick. I found it really interesting! One bodies was amazing as his hand was so perfectly preserved, a picture of it is below. I was amazed by the bodies as i was so interested in the mystery of why they were killed and how. We then went to the William Yeats Museum. I love poetry and I was very fascinated by his life and work. One thing that really shocked me from his life was his interaction with spirits. I found that really strange as the tour guide explained that he spoke to them for answers to his life. William’s life was certainly very interesting as the guide told us all about his loves like Maude Gonne that he urged after. We then went to the National Art Gallery. We then saw all of Jack Yeats paintings. The room was set up so that you’re able to see the changes in his life and work. His early drawing were very realistic but when we moved on he got very creative and contemporary. I enjoyed looking at his paintings many were full of color and a story. I really enjoyed the trip out! The sun was blazing and that just made the day all the better! :)

The link for the picture is here

Jabba Jabba Jembe

Last week all of class Emnet gathered in the music room for a percussion workshop. We all helped bring in the instruments. At the beginning i had no clue what was in the large bag covers, but when the covers where taken off we all saw that they were musical instruments. David (the instructor) then told us that they were jembes and not bongos. We then all got to work learning how to use the jembes. I loved just hitting the jembe aimlessly but I also loved making rhythms with them! The noise from the music room must have been awful as one person described the noise coming from the room as ‘a racket and a half’! Then we worked on making rhythms, he gave us simple tips to remember the beats for example ‘Pat the Bak-er’. When we had learnt all these we all performed an orchestrated rhythm together. Some people were on the jembes while others where banging chairs and other drums. All together the rhythm sounded amazing! We then watched video clips of the place where jembe was originated. The people who live in the town live and breathe rhythm and they also have a very ancient way of life. I was amazed at how their culture was so well maintained as they still had very old traditions and ways compared to my life. today. After that we all tried a little freestyle. Now that didn’t go too well. When I stopped and listened to the noise around me all I could hear was random beats! J I had a great day and I would absolutely love to do it again or learn the jembe myself. But I found that the day was a bit long and I was very tired by the end of it!

Work Experience

For my second week of work experience I decided to go to the district courts in the Nass Courthouse. On my first day I was so nervous and I was panicking having a wardrobe disaster :about what I was wearing, whether it was too formal, or too casual. But after I met my supervisor and when I was settled in in the office I was soon discovered there was no need for my panic as I was dressed just fine! J

When I first thought of doing work experience in the courts I presumed I would always be in court. But to my surprise I spent 3 out of the 5 days doing administrative work. I spent my time working alongside the clerks and I was so surprised at the amount of paperwork and calls they had to answer. I soon found that I liked working in an office environment , but that I didn’t really enjoy office work.

My first day in court was amazing! I loved it! I was really nervous as I got to sit next to the registrar helping with writing fines. I really enjoyed listening and observing the cases even though I was sometimes lost in what was happening.

I found that I got a really good sense of exactly the type of work people do I the courts, and I got a really good insight to the other people who also worked in the court. I had a great week as everyone there was so welcoming and kind and I enjoyed my week in the Naas Courthouse.

And its time to announce the winners....

Last week four groups from the school hoped on a bus and went to the Osprey Hotel, for the Kildare finals of the Student Enterprise Awards. We were all so excited as this year, we were told we had the largest amount of companies from St.Wolstans that had gotten through to the Kildare finals! When we walking in the entrance of the conference rooms are hands were full of all the materials and boards that we could get our hands on. Soon we were quickly setting up our stall , but we were quickly disappointed when we saw a balloon company arrive with an amazing stall ! After awhile our stall was ready. And this time, it didn't fall down! Then we were invited to lunch in another room! I was staving so when I saw the chief dishing chicken and chips I was smiling :) ! Soon I was ready for action (and judging :S) . When the judges came we were all confident and as each judge came our interviews with them got better and better! After the judges , it was time to wait! And after a time the judges came out to announce the winners! Just Desserts scooped up the prize for best judges prize. Then they announced that the company I was on 'Knot A Problem' won 2nd place! We were over the moon and we couldn’t believe that we got so far just with our simple concept ! On the bus home we were all so proud to be apart of TY in St.Wolstans ! :)

Doe , Ray, Me , Fa , So, La , Tee Doe.......

Doe a deer a female deer , is what we are singing in choir ... only joking!!!!!
In Choir we are have entered the Wesley Choir competition which will be held on the 5th of March. We practise every Thursday at lunch. We are singing a song called the Wild Rose. I had never heard of this song before but it is a very beautiful and musical song.
I sing as part of the Alto group and we work well together, even thought I still have to learn all my lines! I have never been to Wesley before but I hope it will be a great experience! I cant wait until the song is perfect! The teachers told us today that we have only a few practises left until the day of the competition .. that was such a shock!!!
I hope everything goes well and I hope I don't lose my note on the day as I definitely will be nervous! :)

Mama said , Mama Said !

In Music , for the last few classes we have been singing Mama Said by Dionne Bromfield . The song has a 60s vibe to it so I think that's really cool!!! The song is so catchy, I remember the 1st day I heard it I couldn't stop singing it!! After the first music class , class emmet was like a moving choir as we moved from class to class singing to our hearts content !! In class a few of the girls have created a harmony to a few if the notes! Its sounds really good ... That is when we are all in tune!! :S :) Next class we are choreographing a few moves to the sing to liven it up a bit!! That will be eventful as as I can hardly tell left from right, so dancing really isn't my scene but it will be fun!! In music the other class are going to perform as bands for us before mid-term! That will be great as I have already heard little snips of what they'll be singing and it sounds really good!!
Click .youtube.com/#/watch?xl=xl_blazer&v=LOT61AwMd2I'>HERE to hear Mama Said by Dionne

Food ,glorious food!!

In home ec we have been given a task to pick a country and to cook 3 fishes from it and also do a project on it! My partner and I have picked the country of India!! We picked India as it is a country that everyone is aware of but we wanted to discover indies real culture as we felt we knew do little about the country. Every Thursday we have double home ec which means cooking time!!!! So far we have made chicken curry and chocolate cookies! Our chicken curry tasted gorgeous and now I'll be able to make dinner and give my mum a break for once! Our cookies were just well...... Wow! Unfortuntly India has a lack of nice sweet dishes so we decided to make cookies and decorate them in an Indian style! We made flags for each cookies by using only a toothpick and a printed out flag! Next week we will be making chicken tikka masala !!!
Home ec this year has been great! We are presenting our projects on our chosen country on Friday! I'm not that nervous but I can't wait to see everyones project!!!

Desert flower review

I have recently read an extracted piece from the book Desert Flower by Waris Dirie . The book is based on the real life account of Waris' story. It is about her journey as a women from the restricting unequal world of Somilia to the world we live on today. In the journey WAris faces many obstacles and near death experiences.
I found that the extact was very compelling . It gave me a true insight to the life as a young girl in Somalia and this book evoked anger with in me as I saw the pain the women go through even though they are the backbone of Somlia.
As i read futher on in the book I developed a growing awe for Waris. I was so shocked to actually believe that what WAris went through was true . I now see Waris as an amazing women of courage, determination and strength . She is truly an amazing role model who I look up to. Waris has saved lifes throughjust telling her story! Overall I am so happy that I had this chance to read this nook and U think everyone should read this story !!

The Show Must Go On!!

A few weeks ago we took part in the Briary Gap Competition in Mullingar. The journey over was quite long but we had got to go in the double decker bus!!! :P The bus was pretty cool on the bottom floor there was tables and chairs!! :) When we got to Mullingar I was so shocked to see just how big the stage was!! It was quite intimidating but later when I saw the Knots and Crosses play I was more relaxed about going on stage. Back stage our group was constantly rehearsing it was great to practise it so much as I was then more sure about my part. When it came to stage time I was more concentrating on having all the props ready which meant I didn't have much time for nerves. When we were in stage the music hadn't started!! That really made me panick as the impact of our while play is based around the sound of the car crash. But the show must go on! So we kept going !But thankfully after a few scenes it started working again. With that relief I went on stage but when I was on I forgot some of my lines and said them in the wrong order. But when I went off stage no one seemed to notice, so I got away with that one!! :) In the end we never saw Niall Horan , which was the only downer on the whole day!! We all had a great day and I was so happy that I was brave enough to get up on stage and perform!!!

Dancing

This term we have started dance classes! I do not dance outside of school but I have found all the classes really fun . At our first class of dancing I was quite embarrssed but soon I really got into it and I didnt care! The moves were so fast that I kept falling behind so I just added in a bit of my own free style moves :) I enjoy dancing every week as we have so much energy and I can't help but smile and laugh my way through the class! All of us were roasting after the class and the hall was so stuffy that we all were relieved to go outside to the fresh air! The music we dance to is also great, it really gets you up and ready to dance! I have found that everyones attitude towards dancing really make the class so fun ! I have enjoyed dancing and I would love to do more dancing in school!! :)