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- Monkey Monday 2 #2
“What was your most glorious moment of victory?” Asks the inquirer.
The ignorant poet responds, “The moment my eyes first gazed upon the words of Shakespeare”
The insignificant family man answers, “The moment my son was born”
The foolish philosopher says, “The moment I humbly accepted that I am but a mere speck in the grand scope of the universe.”
But the man of wisdom replies, "The moment I GAMBLED ❗️❗️❗️JACKPOT 📈📈📈🤑🤑🤑JACKPOT❗️❗️❗️ JACKPOT 💵💵💵 MONEY MONEY 🔥🔥🔥MONEY 🤑🤑🤑
Monkey Monday 2 #2, philosophizing in…
Summer Reading Review
Working as an aerospace assembly technician is very difficult; having to read blueprints and assemble large super fancy steel aerospace tools that weigh hundreds of pounds requires brainpower. However, my first month on the job had me sandblasting and polishing steel for hours on end; the kind of work they give to the green beans (that was me!). In order to keep a nourished brain during hours of repetitive tasks, I listened to audiobooks!
Book review time!
1984 - George Orwell
The first book I listened to was George Orwell’s 1984. A classic of classics, the KING of dystopian novels. This book simultaneously blew my mind, and doubled it in size at the same time.
If you weren’t required to read this in school, or just hate books, 1984 is about a world where society is completely totalitarian: there is one political party, and it is in complete control. Everything is under complete surveillance, every job, family, etc. is sorted and organized with intention by the party, and everyone is blissfully obedient. Everyone is happy. Everyone loves Big Brother, and nobody has original thought. We follow a low-ranking party member as he starts to think for himself and doubt the system.
Minus some uh, unnecessarily sensual scenes, and some really, really, really long exposition about 2/3rds into the book, everything about this book is perfect. It will blow your mind if you give it a chance. This book is crazy.
Score: 10/10 I LOVE BIG BROTHER
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The second book I read was recommended by my good pal Josiah. This book is commonly paired with 1984 as the two essential pioneers to this kind of dystopian novel. While 1984 excels in an incredibly captivating, masterful story with incredible characters and a thrilling plot, Brave New World is a masterful commentary on society, and a scary, yet completely plausible prediction of the future.
This book doesn’t follow a straightforward plot as strictly as 1984, but is more so conceptual in how it caused the reader to think by portraying this fictional world. Without giving too much away, Brave New World is an exaggerated future, where everyone essentially lives in instant gratification. There is no real individualism, there is no sense of worry, or need, or work, or pain, or even reproduction. Humans are created in tanks, and if anyone feels any negative feeling, all they need to do is pop a soma pill for instant happiness! If you want something, you get it!
Halfway through the book, we do start to get a storyline, as we follow a “Savage”, one who is from a society that we would see as “normal”, getting integrated into this hyper-stimulating instant pleasure society.
While I didn’t enjoy this book nearly as much as 1984 (in fact I was quite bored during most of it), the concept of this world is genius, and really causes one to reflect and think. Also the ending is INSANE.
Score: 6/10 Needs a more violent ending
The Trial - Franz Kafka
If anyone has ever heard the full talking-horse-limps-into-a-bar joke (if you know, you know), imagine that, but dragged out for 300 pages, and you get to the end and find there IS no punchline. Or imagine you’re a dog with a stick taped to your head. On the end of the stick, right in front of your face is a piece of bacon hanging on a string. You run after it, but it doesn’t get any closer, so you continue to chase it, hoping eventually you will catch it. If you’ve imagined either of these successfully, you’ve imagined Franz Kafka’s The Trial.
The Trial follows a man who wakes up to find he is being arrested, but as far as he knows, he has done nothing wrong! When asking his capturers why he’s being arrested, they simply say that they do not know, but are merely following orders from followups. Our protagonist soon finds out that his trial has begun.
During my read, I was getting increasingly bored and frustrated. It wasn’t until I reached the did I realize the genius of it. Once it all clicked, I wasn’t sure whether to feel angry, or amazed. This book is a masterfully crafted prank, a commentary on existentialism, a satire on society, and even somehow psychedelic. Maybe not for everyone, and admittedly is quite boring, but totally worth it.
Score: 👁️/10 idek how to rate this exhaustion of a book
Lord Of The Flies - William Golding
Ah, Lord Of The Flies! This was such a breath of fresh air after reading Kafka.
After being stranded on an island, a large group of young boys (I believe the oldest was 12) learn how to survive. They create order, rules, culture, and develop as their own society. What starts as a story of survival slowly shifts into a commentary on human nature; full of mutiny, anarchy, and evil.
This book gets NUTS, and is a masterful display of the horror and wickedness of man, as well as humanities need for order.
Score: 9/10 don’t be silly we aren’t SAVAGES
Fellowship Of The Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
It’s Lord Of The Rings, it rocks. Still liked 1984 more though.
I don’t really have much to say about this one. It’s great, though takes quite a long time to build everything, due to the absolutely massive scope of Tolkien’s world.
Also shoutout the fella that did this audiobook. The dude had music, sound effects, tons of different voices, and was overall super immersive; definetely enhanced my experience of this story. The scene of our heroes being chased in Khazad-Dûm with the audio of the beating drums, the reverb of the enclosed space, and all the orc noises far away, really brought me in to the story, and was actually terrifying.
Score: 9/10
-Nate
Pick of the Week
Aight so as of late I’ve been keeping a lot of the same stuff on rotation; been a lot of Maruja’s new album (may do a review for that in a few weeks), Deftones, Adrianne Lenker, Big Thief, and Elliot Smith. But also on my rotation has been some bossanova and jazz. Got Miles Davis, Antônio Carlos Jobim, and our subject for today: CASIOPEA.
The first time I had heard of CASIOPEA was last year, when the legendary JJWT was nerding out about them. After a year, I decided to give it a shot, and listened to their self titled album: CASIOPEA. These guys are super rad. If you like jazz, or Mario Kart, or caffiene, or fun, give this album a listen! It’s non stop fast, punchy, tasteful tunes that (like the album cover portrays) sounds like you’re racing in Mario Kart.
I don’t have too much to say about this album. It’s fun, it’s a quick listen, go do yourself a favor and listen to CASIOPEA.
-Nate
Is It Ripe?
After what felt like the longest wait for Quintinkle fans (like a year and a half), FIFA- youtuber-turned-internet-rapper-turned-genre-bending-artistic-genius Quintanamo drops the highly anticipated Vanisher, Horizon Scraper. I’m a bum and cannot remember if I’ve talked about Quagmire on here, but if you don’t know, Quoissaint is an incredible artist/producer who started out many many years ago as a youtuber, and has since carved out a place for himself in the music world as a legitimate creative mind.
Quilt’s last 2 projects, I Didn’t Mean To Haunt You and SCRAPYARD, displayed his rapid growth as an artist, and after teasing his next project VANISHER in 2023, his cult-like fanbase has been foaming at the mouth at the thought of this album. And after a few singles early in the year, the full album dropped in July!
And wow this project is crazy. Vanisher, Horizon Scraper is an imaginative concept album, which tells the story of a man who sets out to chase some kind of ambition. While the story of the album is pretty vague, and is intentionally left to the individual to interpret, it still tells a compelling narrative.
As for the soundscape of this album, it’s incredible. It is a blend of bossanova, folk, jazz, post-rock, art-pop, electronica, and hip-hop? This thing seamlessly combines so many worlds in a way that doesn’t feel messy, but is beautiful and innovative. All of the songs have their own unique identity, and I could go on in detail about each one, but nobody wants that. Go check this album out with an open mind. It’s pretty weird, but super rewarding. Also there’s an entire music video/film that really enhances the experience if that’s your thing.
Oh and the ending of this thing is one of the craziest, most ambitious, mind-boggling feats of production I’ve ever heard in music. Sorry for going nerd mode. Go listen.
Favorite Songs: WAGING WAR, RUIN MY LIFE, DANCING WITHOUT MOVING, THAT’S WHY, FORGONE, CASPER
-Nate
Ripeness: 9.5/10
Interview Time!
This week we are interviewing Carroll Sophomore Sophia!
Ashley’s Animals
Roseate Spoonbill!
There are 6 different species of spoonbills, however only the roseate spoonbill is endemic to the western part of the world, being found in many parts of South and Central America, The Caribbean, and even reaching up to some areas like Florida and Louisiana |  |
The roseate spoonbill takes its name from its distinct spoon-shaped beak and its pink coloration. It weighs between 2.6-4lbs and has a wingspan of 3.9-4.3ft |  |
The roseate spoonbill wades in shallow water, and uses its uniquely shaped and very sensitive beak to stir the water to search for small crustaceans to eat. Like flamingos, their diet is what gives them their pink coloration (however, the two species are unrelated). |  |
The roseate spoonbill is seen in places like Florida as an indicator species to help identify the overall health and well-being of the environment they live in. If the spoonbill is thriving, then it’s very likely the rest of the everglades are also thriving. However, if not, then it may be an indicator of a more serious problem in the environment. |  |
The roseate spoonbill are very social birds and enjoys living in large colonies, often including other species of birds like storks and ibis. In nesting season, they dance and exchange nest building materials with each other before they pair off to lay eggs. -Ashley |  |
Parin’s Proverb
"They call it chewing gum for gum is to be chewed. They call it reading books for books are to be read. They call it a viewing gallery for the gallery is meant to be viewed. What do you call your toothbrush?"
Quan Quotes
“My dog is pregnant! She’s going to born me three puppies. I will name them Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.”
Verse Of The Week
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”