How I learned to play the drums

           If you want to learn how to play the drums, there are many ways you can do it, but this is the way I did it. When I was a kid, I always wanted to play the drums, but my family didn't have a lot of money to buy drums and things like that. So when I was about five years old,  I started hitting pots and pans in the kitchen with big spoons and sticks. My mom didn't like that. I used cardboard boxes or plastic tubs for drums. In school I would bang on my desk with my hands or pencils. I used whatever I could find. I finally decided to buy a drum set about 20 years ago and learn to play. You can get a starter set of drums with cymbals for about $300 to $500. I bought a nice set of used drums for $500 that was worth a lot more than that because the guy needed money, fast. After I got the drums, I just started playing around on them by myself, but then I realized I was just making noise, so I bought some CDs about how to play drums and then found a drum teacher for weekly lessons. I tried to practice my drums every day for at least half an hour, but sometimes I was too busy with work, or was just lazy, or didn't want to bother my wife and daughters.  So I found a guy my age who played the guitar and liked the same kind of music. We didn't play too well, but we played LOUD. We had fun playing music together, but neither one of us could sing, but we had fun. Now I don't take drum lessons, but I listen to rock music from the 60s and 70s like The Beatles, The Who, and The Police, and I just play along with the music. I have a good time, but I would not say that I am a good drummer. There are many great rock drummers, but I like Ringo Star of The Beatles and Stewart Copeland of The Police. Now, I am teaching my little grandson Alex how to play the drums, and he can have my drums later when he gets older. I bought him some little drums. Like grandpa, Alex thinks it is fun to bang on the drums. Most drummers like to play drum solos as a way to show their skills. Click here to hear a drum solo by one of my favorite drummers: Stewart Copeland drum solo  Wow!  I wish I could play this well, but for now I just enjoy listening to drummers like him. In conclusion, when you know how to do something, you don't necessarily have to be good at it; what is important is that you have fun doing it and don't take yourself too seriously, because if you think you are a great drummer, there is always some drummer out there who is better than you.

Inside Out movie review

      I have never written a review of a movie on my blog. Until I saw Inside Out. Last Saturday, my wife and I took our grandson, Alex, to this movie. It was the most interesting and creative movie I have seen in a long time. Yes, an animated movie. A cartoon. Did you think animated movies were just for children?  The movie theater was full of parents and their children--everyone was enjoying it just as much as we were. The movie is impossible to explain. You just have to go watch it and you will see what I mean. This movie is so unusual because it can be watched at two levels, by children and adults.  It is thoroughly entertaining for people of all ages.  It begins with a beautiful scene of two volcano islands singing a love (lava) song to each other.  See what I mean?  It's hard to explain. Just go see the movie. You can click here to see a trailer about the movie; Inside Out trailer.  Go see the movie!

The Writing Process

      To write a good academic paper, it is important to follow the writing process. There are several steps in the writing process. The steps can be divided into four parts; pre-writing, writing, reviewing and revising. First, previewing involves thinking about your topic, brainstorming, writing down your thoughts, and organizing your thoughts into an outline. Good writing, like everything else in life always starts with thinking. Second, you write the first draft using your outline. Third, you have someone read your first draft and tell you what they liked and how you can improve your writing. This is called peer review. You review their comments and decide how you are going to change your paper in the second draft.  Finally, you revise your paper and write the second draft,  taking the peer review comments into consideration and your own ideas about how to improve your paper. Then you proofread your paper for any errors in format, grammar, spelling, and punctuation, Now you have finished your second draft and your paper is ready to submit to your instructor. In conclusion, if you have followed all these steps in the writing process, from pre-writing to revising, you will write a good paper that will receive a good grade. Good luck!