Between the South City Voices and Gottschalk, I believe the South City Voices sound better to my ear. The Gottschalk version was a bit hard to slow down with during the middle of the song but was still beautiful. I believe the piano is one of the most romantic instruments. The South City Voices kept a good pace and strong sound with only their voices. Starvinsky’s use of different groups of a symphony is heard toward the middle-end of the song. I agree with the decision to do this;it shows the strength of both groups and what sounds they can make separately. After listening to Stravinsky’s version and Jimi Hendrix, neither are offensive to me. I can see how they could be offensive to some because of the way the music was altered. The guitar and different use of instruments in both pieces can be seen as foreign or blurry to some that only know or like the original.

The Star Spangled Banner has been a song in my life ever since the second grade. Our school made us memorize it as an assignment in class. I think it was very useful and valuable to learn this piece since we live in the United States. The meaning of freedom and purpose and strength shows throughout the song. I do like the song every time it is presented in a sports game. The song ringing in a big stadiums gives me chills every time as that jet fly’s by. The song means a lot to me; I love the thought of our country and how great it is.

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.