Saturday, February 16, 2013
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Music Review: Modestep -- Evolution Theory *NEW ALBUM*
From first track "Show Me A Sign" to final track "Saved the World," Evolution Theory truly puts on a clinic of versatility, blending elements from rock, alternative, dubstep, house, and electro into a seemingly flawless composition. In many cases, when other sounds are added to dubstep, they seem to sound a bit forced at times. However, this is not the case with this album; rather than headlining these alternate elements, Modestep allowed these other elements to show themselves.
My personal favorite tracks on the album are "Show Me A Sign," "Another Day," "Sunlight," and "Bite the Hand." "Show Me A Sign" is a nice classic dubstep song, which has a hard-hitting drop, but also melodic singing to soften it up. "Another Day" is your classic "feel good" track, and rather than using convention dubstep drops, they created a heavy wobble house beat to accompany the song. "Sunlight" is well constructed overall, while "Bite the Hand" gives a great display of juxtaposition between the song's message and the tone of the song itself.
Many people have compared Evolution Theory to anything that Foreign Beggars would come out with. However, with no offense to Foreign Beggars, this album is truly better than anything they have ever come out with. The album is a perfect blend of many elements that they don't attempt to overpower their tracks with, but rather use as accompaniment. I also commend their experimentation, especially with switching tempo mid-song. This trend is most notable in the track "Sunlight," where they change the tempo after the third drop.
Overall, I give this album a 10/10. This album should truly be purchased by anyone who admires dubstep. It is truly a work of art, and I expect big things from Modestep in the future.
Written by R. Turk
http://expertscolumn.com/content/music-review-modestep-evolution-theory-new-album
Friday, February 15, 2013
Why Technology Company Stocks Are the Safest Bet for Investment
The first thing you need to know about the stock market is that anyone (above the age of 18) can invest. Online stock investment applications, such as E-Trade and TD Ameritrade have revolutionized the once experts-only club and turned investing for the future into a normal, everyday practice. The biggest decisions one must make when investing their hard earned money into such a risky market is how much money to invest and where to invest it.
Obviously, how much money you invest will, in turn, effect which companies you will own shares of. Everyone knows the basic philosophy of the stock market: buy low and sell high. That is the primary way to make money, and there are certain types of companies that will make you more money than others. In my own experience, I have found that purchasing shares in technology companies are the safest investments to make.
Currently, I own shares in processor company, AMD and computer hardware company, Dell.
AMD has not been one of my better purchases, but it is slowly rising
back up to what I purchased it for. However, Dell has been my main cash
cow. Near the end of October, I sold my shares in Office Depot, which
made me a profit of $15.00 total and purchased some shares of Dell at
$9.50 a share. Currently, the Dell stock is valued at $13.78 per share. With just Dell stock in mind, I have made a 29.95% net gain on the money I invested initially.
Many over the last decade have seen major gains from certain technology companies. Apple and Microsoft, for instance, skyrocketed over the past decade and have made many people much more well-to-do than they were. Apple, recently, took a nosedive, but I am sure that it will resolve itself. When a technology company's stock trends down sharply, in many cases, the company will reevaluate within a few months to fix the problem. Such was the case with Dell, and I bought shares of the stock when it fell harshly.
You may thing that investing in the stock market is too risky. However, without risk, there is no reward. If you are bit skeptical, invest only $200 or so just to get your head in the door, as I have. Sure, the gains will not be monstrous, but it gets you used to the joys and pitfalls that associate with trends. Think of the stock market as a smarter way to gamble your money, in which you control your own destiny with the companies that you choose.
Written by R. Turk
http://expertscolumn.com/content/why-technology-company-stocks-are-safest-bet-investment
Obviously, how much money you invest will, in turn, effect which companies you will own shares of. Everyone knows the basic philosophy of the stock market: buy low and sell high. That is the primary way to make money, and there are certain types of companies that will make you more money than others. In my own experience, I have found that purchasing shares in technology companies are the safest investments to make.
Currently, I own shares in processor company, AMD and computer hardware company, Dell.
AMD has not been one of my better purchases, but it is slowly rising
back up to what I purchased it for. However, Dell has been my main cash
cow. Near the end of October, I sold my shares in Office Depot, which
made me a profit of $15.00 total and purchased some shares of Dell at
$9.50 a share. Currently, the Dell stock is valued at $13.78 per share. With just Dell stock in mind, I have made a 29.95% net gain on the money I invested initially.Many over the last decade have seen major gains from certain technology companies. Apple and Microsoft, for instance, skyrocketed over the past decade and have made many people much more well-to-do than they were. Apple, recently, took a nosedive, but I am sure that it will resolve itself. When a technology company's stock trends down sharply, in many cases, the company will reevaluate within a few months to fix the problem. Such was the case with Dell, and I bought shares of the stock when it fell harshly.
You may thing that investing in the stock market is too risky. However, without risk, there is no reward. If you are bit skeptical, invest only $200 or so just to get your head in the door, as I have. Sure, the gains will not be monstrous, but it gets you used to the joys and pitfalls that associate with trends. Think of the stock market as a smarter way to gamble your money, in which you control your own destiny with the companies that you choose.
Written by R. Turk
http://expertscolumn.com/content/why-technology-company-stocks-are-safest-bet-investment
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
The Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI: How Does "Criminal Minds" Sice it Up
Originally Published: January 29, 2012
One of the most watched television dramas currently airing is the CBS primetime drama "Criminal Minds," a show that chronicles the existence of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit and its main team of elite profilers that search and capture serial killers and rapists that threaten and harm society. The show is an amazing thrill to watch, but then after watching a number of episodes, one wonders how much of this action and thrill is real. Do FBI's behavioral profilers jump into burning buildings to save victims and actively head into the line of fire to capture the best of them? The answer is a very blount no. "Criminal Minds" is a sice up of what the Behavioral Analysis Unit really is and what they honestly do.
For one thing, nobody who works in the real BAU call any kind of suspect an "unsub" (short for unknown subject). "Unsub" was simply a term created for the TV show, but it goes further. For one thing, "Criminal Minds" makes one believe that the BAU consists of hundreds of criminal psychologists working day in and day out to capture criminals, when in real life, there may be ten or twenty of them working as full time employees. The reason they do not need that many is because these experts would be lucky to get ten cases total in a single year, and any more than one-hundred deaths due to a serial killer any year would be a tragedy. Not to lessen the impact of their position, but they are more provisional workers than they are active in most cases.
You may also wonder why I have not called these employees, "profilers." On the show, the team is made up of high class profiler/special agents, but in reality, the FBI does not contain an occupational position as a profiler; most of them are known as criminal psychologists. They never end up in the line of fire, nor end up trying to capture the criminals they helped to figure out in the end. Most of the time, these guys do not even leave headquarters unless it is absolutely necessary.
Also, on the show, the team is, more often than not, able to solve a case in two to three days. In reality, on the other hand, cases that are pushed up to the BAU by the local, state, and federal governments usually take weeks or months to crack, and at the point they usually end up there, they have been investigated for around two to three weeks. There are actually over 25,000 times more criminal psychologists in the field of capturing Internet sex offenders than there are in the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI.
As much as former producer Edward Bernero wants audiences to believe that these are just well created chronicles of what happened on real cases, the superhero-like qualities make the characters of "Criminal Minds" less and less of the epitome of criminal psychologists in the BAU. Nonetheless, many will still believe that what they are watching is what they want to be when they grow up. If what you see on "Criminal Minds" is what you want to do with your life, then become a detective or a police officer; criminal profiling is not for you. But even with the many flaws the television show displays, "Criminal Minds" is probably one of the best shows on television and I will continue to watch it for entertainment (it comes on at 9 pm eastern time on Wedensday nights on CBS).
Anywho, even if the real criminal psychologists of the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation do not do the radical police work that the show portrays them to do, they are still heroes who help capture the criminals and put them behind bars.
Written by R. Turk
http://expertscolumn.com/content/behavioral-analysis-unit-fbi-how-much-does-criminal-minds-sice-it
One of the most watched television dramas currently airing is the CBS primetime drama "Criminal Minds," a show that chronicles the existence of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit and its main team of elite profilers that search and capture serial killers and rapists that threaten and harm society. The show is an amazing thrill to watch, but then after watching a number of episodes, one wonders how much of this action and thrill is real. Do FBI's behavioral profilers jump into burning buildings to save victims and actively head into the line of fire to capture the best of them? The answer is a very blount no. "Criminal Minds" is a sice up of what the Behavioral Analysis Unit really is and what they honestly do.
For one thing, nobody who works in the real BAU call any kind of suspect an "unsub" (short for unknown subject). "Unsub" was simply a term created for the TV show, but it goes further. For one thing, "Criminal Minds" makes one believe that the BAU consists of hundreds of criminal psychologists working day in and day out to capture criminals, when in real life, there may be ten or twenty of them working as full time employees. The reason they do not need that many is because these experts would be lucky to get ten cases total in a single year, and any more than one-hundred deaths due to a serial killer any year would be a tragedy. Not to lessen the impact of their position, but they are more provisional workers than they are active in most cases.
You may also wonder why I have not called these employees, "profilers." On the show, the team is made up of high class profiler/special agents, but in reality, the FBI does not contain an occupational position as a profiler; most of them are known as criminal psychologists. They never end up in the line of fire, nor end up trying to capture the criminals they helped to figure out in the end. Most of the time, these guys do not even leave headquarters unless it is absolutely necessary.
Also, on the show, the team is, more often than not, able to solve a case in two to three days. In reality, on the other hand, cases that are pushed up to the BAU by the local, state, and federal governments usually take weeks or months to crack, and at the point they usually end up there, they have been investigated for around two to three weeks. There are actually over 25,000 times more criminal psychologists in the field of capturing Internet sex offenders than there are in the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI.
As much as former producer Edward Bernero wants audiences to believe that these are just well created chronicles of what happened on real cases, the superhero-like qualities make the characters of "Criminal Minds" less and less of the epitome of criminal psychologists in the BAU. Nonetheless, many will still believe that what they are watching is what they want to be when they grow up. If what you see on "Criminal Minds" is what you want to do with your life, then become a detective or a police officer; criminal profiling is not for you. But even with the many flaws the television show displays, "Criminal Minds" is probably one of the best shows on television and I will continue to watch it for entertainment (it comes on at 9 pm eastern time on Wedensday nights on CBS).
Anywho, even if the real criminal psychologists of the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation do not do the radical police work that the show portrays them to do, they are still heroes who help capture the criminals and put them behind bars.
Written by R. Turk
http://expertscolumn.com/content/behavioral-analysis-unit-fbi-how-much-does-criminal-minds-sice-it
Monday, February 11, 2013
Pope Benedict XVI Resigns: Was it Old Age or Something More Social?
It was a shock to the Christian community this morning when it was announced that Pope Benedict XVI would resign his post as leader of the Catholic Church. The official statement cites inability to perform regular duties as the leader of the church due to old age as the cause of this most shocking turn of events. However, I am not completely sure that old age has anything to do with this 85 year old's choice to abdicate.
Some facts that support old age as a reason include the fact that no pope has made it to their 85th birthday since Pope Leo XIII back in the 1800s and early 1900s. However, he was able to perform his duties up until he turned 93.
I had a lot of problems with Pope Benedict's policies, and there was certainly a reason why he was called "God's Rottweiler." This is probably because of my agnostic stand; certainly many Christians follow his word. However, he continually worked to denounce homosexual rights, homosexual marriage, and birth control.
However, in an interview conducted in 2010, Benedict stated, "... with the intention of reducing the risk of HIV infection, may be an indication that the prostitute is intending to reduce the evil connected with his or her immoral activity." This statement was aimed at homosexual men who are sexually active, but he still condoned the use of condoms, which he devoted his entire career to deny. Of course we all know that homosexual couples can not create a bady. However, STDs can still be contracted through any sort of sexual behavior. It sounds a bit hypocritical to me that he states that homosexual men can use condoms to reduce risk of AIDs because they are already "sinners," yet heterosexual couples are not allowed, by any means, to use birth control.
The sad fact of the world is that not everybody waits. Many Christians want people to wait until marriage, but the reality of all of this is that there are many who do not wait. Condoms are meant to keep an accident from happening, and they are proven to help reduce the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.
Benedict also had many problems with scandals over his entire time working for the papacy. For one thing, he stated that pedophilia was a normal behavior.
“In the 1970s, pedophilia was theorised as something fully in conformity with man and even with children,”
“It was maintained — even within the realm of Catholic theology — that there is no such thing as evil in itself or good in itself. There is only a ‘better than’ and a ‘worse than’. Nothing is good or bad in itself.”
- Belfast Times Article- December 21, 2010
This is the man that we are so concerned with resigning his post as the highest power in the Roman Catholic Church. Here is the hard truth: this is a man that uses his power and position to practically justify some of the horrible things he says. He is not retiring because he is old; he is retiring because of the terrible way he has run the church. I have respect for organized religion and people's right to practice it on their own time, but I have no respect for people that promote pedophilia and hatred towards other groups.
Written by R. Turk
http://expertscolumn.com/content/pope-benedict-xvi-resigns-was-it-old-age-or-something-more-social
Music Review: The Goons -- New Self Titled Album
The album begins with "The Interrogation," a song that sounds a bit like Sublime with a twist. The song is very pop oriented, but the singer is a bit harsher on this song than later tracks on the album. "Let Go," the second track on the album, gives a much softer tone than the latter, but the song is not quite as catchy as others on the album.
The third track, "Hotel," is by far the most impressive song on the album and has garnered many's interest in the duo. The song sounds like a pop-rock hybrid that you would literally hear in Elvis' time. The lyrics are well-written and catchy, and the guitar hook will keep anyone captivated. "Taxi Cab" brings a more modern twist to their style than prior tracks, and fifth track "Weak" caught my eye as somewhat of a power ballad. However, neither could live up to the grandeur that was "Hotel."
Sixth track, "Boomerang Girl," gives a more western sound than most of their other tracks, but unlike some of the prior tracks, it brings back some of the catchiness that made "Hotel" such a hit. This is followed by the soothing ballad, "Tomorrow," which was quite impressive and reminded me of some of Led Zeppelin's softer songs. "One Way or Another has one of the better guitar parts on the entire album, but lacks when compared to some prior songs.
The following tracks, "Blaze," "Fisherman's Cove," and "Running for the Hills" are all pretty good tracks in their own way but also all lack the catchiness "Hotel" had. The final song, "Fight or Flee" is much more aggressive and is truly a perfect way to close the album.
My final grade for The Goons is an 8/10. An 8/10 is a great score for an act that is just getting started, and we should be pretty impressed they ranked higher than Hollywood Undead's new album. There were some blatant strengths presented, such as David Gray's guitar work through the album, but also some weaknesses as well. However, most of the weaknesses were probably due to the fact that they set the bar so high with "Hotel" and could not really live up to its superiority on the rest of the album. However, I do request this album to anyone who wants to listen to something new with no autotune. The talent is certainly there; if you give the album a chance, it certainly does deliver.
Written by R. Turk
http://expertscolumn.com/content/music-review-goons-new-self-titled-album
R. Turk: Opinions and Columns
Due to recent events, I will begin to republish my works from Expertscolumn.com on this blog. I hope you all like this. I hope to publish one every day on here. Good luck all.
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