Editor
Treasurer
Sue Kim Haneul Jang Minhee Choi
Alex Chi
Chaemin Lee
David Yi
Elina Nam
Elle Youn
Gina Jeong
Hyonsan Kim
Sarah Pyeon
Shinju Kim
Toby Granger
Yaeeun Hwang
Yirae Chang
Yongsuk Kim
Gina Jeong
Yaeeun Hwang
https://www ualrpublicradio org/npr-news/2023-03-03/a-greek-train-driver-was-told-toignore-a-red-light-before-a-head-on-crash-killed-57
"I wasn't hurt, but I was stained with blood from other people who were injured near me" - Lazos, a survivor. (BBC)
On the night of February 28, 2023, two trains, going in opposite directions, sped toward each other on the same track. One, a passenger train, held 342 passengers and 10 crew members
The collision was inevitable. The Tempi train crash, an accident between a passenger train from Athens and a shipping train from Thessaloniki, led to one of the deadliest recorded rail accidents in Greek History.
The following includes details of the collision: The crash itself occurred near the city of Larissa, Greece, in the municipality of Tempi BBC reports that the accident caused the first two carriages of the passenger train to derail before they burst into almost immediate flames. Although authorities were alerted just before midnight, casualties could not be averted. Some bodies were so unrecognizably charred that they had to be
identified by DNA samples and body parts. To add to the tragedy, many of these passengers were university students in their 20s, returning from a long weekend break.
As of present, 57 are confirmed dead, while 85 are injured
The exact causes of the accident are yet unknown - although the Larissan train conductor in charge of rail traffic was fired and is on trial, many civilians criticized the irresponsibility of the Greek rail system and the absence of a backup mechanism to rely on when human error occurs. Yiannis Ditsas, head of the railway workers union, also stated that the automatic signaling at the crash site was malfunctioning. It was later revealed that the government had always been aware of the potential dangers and shortcomings of the AthensThessaloniki line of the railway system - further fueling civilian outrage. But this incident was far from over. A few weeks later, on March 16, 2023, thousands of Greek citizens took part in a national strike, condemning the government and its role in the Tempi train accident. Many participated in rigorous protests, and railway workers nationwide have quit their jobs, demanding that the government take action against rail safety hazards. Protestors claimed that negligence and privatization from rail authorities and the government were to blame for the accident.
Although the government has not yet taken extensive action, the words of their protests still ring loud: “We will be the voice of the dead”.
https://greekherald com au/news/over-60000-people-attend-protests-in-greece-after-deadlytrain-crash/
Are you looking for a way to make your spring break fun as much as possible? Are you searching for special service opportunities out of school? Then, the TCIS LASA trip is definitely for you!
The LASA trip, abbreviated for Love All Serve All, is a trip where around 20 of teachers and 8-10th grade students at TCIS go to different designated areas around the world to serve those in need in those countries. This trip takes place during the spring break for exactly 1
week Before the trip, students are required to pay 1,600,000 won in order to participate, which covers the fee for the flights, food, as well as donation. For the past few years, the school has commonly visited the same countries due to our association with the nation's service organizations: Boracay, Manila, and the Philippines. This year there were 3 options for students to choose, which was Manila for 8th graders and Boracay, Philippines or Chiang Mai, Vietnam for high school students. You may think that the options are too limited, and that is in fact true A long time ago, TCIS used to go to more various countries such as India as well. However, during recent years, the LASA trip was unfortunately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now in spring of 2023, although the options are more limited, the LASA trip has begun again for the first time in 3 years!
This year I participated in the Boracay LASA trip for the first time With this experience, I can share my experience and information about what we actually do!
Among the 5 days we have (excluding the first and last day of the week for traveling between countries), 2 days were spent on serving for the minorities in a very rural area (on the mountain) For the rest of the 3 days were for serving, especially the children, in the local community.
For 2 days, the Boracay LASA team went to the Ati tribes living up in the mountains of a different island from Boracay. People often say that this is the hardest part during the entire trip because even in the arriving process to the Ati tribe’s village involved taking a van, boat, trikes, and walking continuously Hiking up to the highest part of the mountains requires a lot of strength so it is difficult for students lacking stamina. However, once they reach the village they all enjoy the beautiful scenery of the entire region. Up in the mountain, the students spend time and have fun with the children in the tribe using the toys the LASA team brought, after the children return from church For example, we play with bubbles, jump ropes, make bracelets, frisbee, etc. In addition, the Ati tribe also prepared their local food of pork for the LASA team which we all enjoyed so much All the people were so welcoming and had wonderful hospitality!
For the other 3 days, we mostly stayed in Boracay island and visited churches or feeding sites where we spent time with the local children. The students got closer with the children by doing physical activities and games together and the near beach. Then, we visited their feeding site where each student took care of 1-2 children specifically and helped them eat the food we have brought Although it did feel a bit awkward at first to be with children we do not know well, as time passed, the LASA team all became friends with them. Listening to the children’s laughter and seeing their smiles brightened by day and let me forget all of the tiredness coming from the hot weather.
Furthermore, another amazing part about the LASA trip is that the students get individual free time for a few hours every day. Hence, the students not only serve others during the entire week, but also have enough time to rest, enjoy their time in the new country, and learn the unique culture of the nation! In fact, the students even got to play beach volleyball with the locals in Boracay, which was a great time of interaction.
In conclusion, the LASA trip is not only a good opportunity for you to serve others with love, but also to enjoy your time with your friends and experience new cultures such as the cuisine Actually, there are even more activities you get to do other than the ones I showed you today! So, if you were hesitating to sign up for the LASA trip this year and ended up not doing it, go ahead and join us next year! It is true that you will not be able to spend time working on your school assignments over the break, but the experience you gain here is very worth it It is important for you to realize that there is so much more value in serving and caring for others, not just caring for your own grades
Always remember to Love all, serve all!
The TCIS STUCO officer elections were held. The election process was divided into two days, with the first day being held on February 6th, while the second continued on February 13th. This was to ensure all the candidates had the time to fully speak their speeches without the concern of time.
The first day of elections began at 12:30 PM during assembly, where the 3 candidates for co-president made their speeches Samuel Lee was the first person to start us off, as he emphasized how he wanted to write a good story with the community Seungbum Kim followed, as he made an entertaining rhyme of “seung”, which meant “victory” in Korean. The speech ended with Skye Joung, who made an innovative speech about how dedicated she had been to the student body and would continue to be
On the second day of the election, which also began at 12:30 PM during Core time. Unfortunately, the microphone was not ready for the first speaker, David Yi Hence, a rare occasion of making a speech without a microphone occurred, which made everyone laugh. After the secretary candidate made his speech, the candidates for treasurer presented their speeches. The first candidate was Adelina Ryu Both candidates appealed their sense of caring for money, and proved why they were the ideal candidates for the position.
Overall, although the event had its ups and downs, it brought a lot of entertainment and gave the community assurance that there are always students who desire to work for the community.
Winglets, Sharklets, Split-tips, oh my! If you’ve ever looked out of an airplane window, or just ever have seen an airplane itself, you probably noticed a protruding device at the tip of a plane’s wings. These devices are called “wingtip devices”. Wingtip devices come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, and winglets, sharklets, split-tips are types of these wingtip devices This article aims to provide an overview of how these devices work.
Wingtip devices are extensions made to an aircraft’s wing, at the end, as pictured above. According to Simple Flying, in general, regardless of its design and type, these wingtip devices are designed to improve fixed wing fuel efficiency. They do this by limiting the amount of drag produced by the aircraft’s wings through partial recovery of the tip vortex energy. But what does that mean? According to Engineer Element, or Engre, a multitude of forces act on every object Force, in this case, refers to forces in physics, like
Pictured Above: Korean Air 737-8 with a “Split-Tips” winglet circled | Image by Korean Air, circle added afterwards by writer for empasis
gravity or air resistance. The most important force for this topic is drag.. Drag is the force resisting an object, as it moves through air There are three components to drag relevant to airplanes: profile drag, shockwave, and induced drag of the wing When a wing travels through air flow, a pressure difference between air above and below the wings are formed, with the area below the wing having more pressure Gasses, such as air, travel from high pressure areas to low pressure areas. The shortest route to move from the high pressure area to the low pressure area without moving upstream is horizontally towards the wingtips and curving upwards However, since the aircraft is moving forward concurrently, it means the air which curved upwards towards the top of the wing is now behind the wing, with another portion of air doing the same movements in its place. This creates a rotating movement at the wingtips, called the vortex cord
But how do we reduce the induced drag? As mentioned earlier, gasses travel from high pressure areas to low pressure areas horizontally via the wing According to Engre, theoretically, however, if the wing is extended forever,
Pictured Above: Diagram of air movement without wingtip devices | Image by Engre
Pictured Below: Comparison of Vortexes with and without the use of wingtip devices | Image by Engre
there would be no tip where the high pressure air could turn to the area with low pressure air, therefore blocking the process of induced drag of the wing. However, since an infinitely long wing is impossible, engineers simply elongate the wing to negate this effect as much as possible
However, even this method still has its issues. If the wingspan is simply increased, it means that the gravitational forces will make it snap apart If better materials are used to improve the strength of the wing, then the wing would become too heavy and the aircraft would not be able to take off Therefore, engineers looked to a different solution using the same idea: wingtip devices. By creating a device which curved upwards at the tips of the wings, the distance that the high pressure air had to travel in order to get to the low pressure air would increase, which would make the vortices less powerful, without making the wing itself any longer The less powerful vortices would translate into resulting in less drag, resulting in less fuel used for the same distance traveled
This method is now used in many aircraft around the world. From small jets to large long-haul giants, wingtip devices have helped the environment and your ticket prices by reducing fuel usage, and variations on this technology will continue to flourish into the future, as our society looks towards more environmentally friendly options and moves away from fossil fuels
Pictured Above: A YB-49 Strategic Bomber, which has a wingspan of ~50m | Wikipedia
Minhee Choi
“Roy, It’s time to go to sleep.”
A soft voice echoed through the hallway, to a small room with a little boy sitting on his bed. Roy’s cheeks were filled with air and looked like they were just about to pop His eyes were getting watery and his ears were turning scarlet red. The soft voice belonged to his mother. She came inside the blue room with stickers Roy stayed still, sitting on the bed with its arms crossed Looking at Roy who wanted to play until midnight, his mother began telling him a story.
“Once upon a time, there were two identical looking girls who didn’t like sleeping and wanted to play all night long. They were warned several times but both of them ignored the warning and played until they were actually tired However, as time passed and a new morning came, one of the girls didn’t wake
up. There was sweat all over her and her face was pale as if she had seen something she shouldn’t have The girl didn’t wake up until 7 that night
Before she woke up, she had the worst nightmare of losing her sister.”
Then, Roy’s mother looked at Roy and carried on.
“The girl repeated this routine every day, having nightmares each night
After recognizing that their sleeping habits had brought on this effect, they began to go to sleep on time. The next day, both of the girls woke up without any difficulty, having slept well From this, they noticed that they had to go to sleep by 9pm or else a woman with a red umbrella would give them the consequences, to dream nightmares forever…”
“However, the girls soon let their new bedtime routine slip away, back to the time where they had their nightmare. After a few days, their nightmare carried on, bringing a worse consequence. One of the girls woke up, while the other girl had vanished ”
The story finished and tears started to pour from Roy’s eyes. Roy was only half crying, crying that he didn't want to go to sleep. After a long discussion between Roy and his mother, Roy at last went to sleep. She laid him softly under the blanket so that he didn’t wake up.
While his mother left Roy in his bed, Roy was dreaming something weird. In front of him was a long path which Roy was able to recognize. This was the dream that he had been warned about As he walked along the path, Roy was shocked by what he was actually seeing and hearing. There was a woman in front of him with a big scarlet umbrella, whereas other things were all monotone There, the woman began walking towards Roy, creating a sound by her footsteps. Her heels were making a creepy clicking sound; Roy was only able to hear the sound of her footsteps getting louder and louder Soon, the woman with the scarlet umbrella stood in front of Roy. She stared down at him for quite a long time and opened her mouth.
“Come follow me ”
At that time, Roy did not know what to do but her voice was cold as ice and commanded obedience. His hands were getting colder and he followed her in his small tiny steps When they were walking, Roy abruptly heard a weird voice; he was confused as it seemed like a large number of people speaking at the same time Roy quickly looked around, searching for the owners of the voices. As he looked around, he finally recognized the owner of the sounds, which were the waves on the side of the paths, crashing and colliding into the side walls. Every time the waves pounded on the wall, he could also hear something else that was weird As the voices made by the waves were crashing, the woman began humming a bright little whistling song Roy kept his mouth closed and didn’t make a sound, but when she began humming, Roy stood still. He quietly and subconsciously hummed along, causing the woman to stop him. The woman looked at Roy. Her hands were shaking in shock and she opened her mouth. “How do you know that song? Answer me!”
Frightened, Roy closed his eyes and fell down onto the floor There were tears coming from his eyes, crawling down his soft cheeks and to his chin. The woman rapidly changed her facial expression and softly asked Roy again.
“Do you know this song? How?”
Roy slowly wiped his tears with his hands and spoke in a shivering voice. “I was just humming along because the melody was simple and was easy to learn, but also my mother taught me this song.”
When Roy finished answering, the woman was back to her normal mood, and they carried on walking in a long, deep silence. They were about half way along the pier. The woman suddenly swung her umbrella and said out loud in a clear, cold voice, “I have come.”
When she folded her umbrella back, Roy was able to see a door opening at the far end of the path, which Roy thought was their final destination
Without hesitation, the woman told Roy that she could not help him because she needed to be fair to everyone But she said that she could make Roy have less nightmares by stopping halfway through and as soon as she stopped talking, dark, black shadows were suddenly dashing through the doorway, coming towards Roy. Roy closed his eyes. He was just about to get covered with the shadows When he opened his eyes, he was in darkness and was not able to see the woman or her umbrella.
When he was just about to yell and cry out for help, he noticed something strange. In the darkness, he saw his mother and his father slowly fading. When Roy was just about to run towards them to hug, he noticed that something was unusual. As he got closer and closer, his parents were walking away from him, saying that he was not needed Roy quickly yelled out at his mother and when he did, he felt his blanket and his pillow. He was waking up from the nightmare Even though he was scared and was relieved that he was back, there was one question that was still not solved, which was, who was the woman with the red umbrella? In the morning, Roy quickly ran to his parent’s room, checking if both of them were there Then, when he saw his mother waking up, he asked her about the song. Going back through his memory, he sang the song and asked her who else knew this song. With her eyes wide open, she asked Roy, “Wait, was there a person singing this song? Where? Can you tell me please?”
Roy was surprised because he had never seen his mother being this desperate. Roy quickly told her about his dream and suddenly, tears fell from her eyes Then, she slightly whispered, “She was alive ”
Sarah Pyeon
"Tuesdays with Morrie", the message Professor Mori wanted to show the readers.
"Tuesdays with Morrie" is a book about the conversations of Mitch Albom, an old student of Professor Morrie who meets him every Tuesday. Professor Morrie is diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease Lou Gehrig's disease(Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS) is a disease that damages motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord(Mayo Clinic Staff, 2022) It's a disease that causes the body's muscles to stop moving, and eventually, the muscles that cause them to breathe break down, leading to death. The disease was named after Lou Gehrig, who was the fourth batter of the legendary New York Yankees. Famous English theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking is also known to have suffered from Lou Gehrig's disease In addition, patients with Lou Gehrig's disease are characterized by no abnormalities in their senses or cognitive abilities In the book, sentenced to live for about two years, Professor Mori begins to make plans as he feels more and more of his body's abnormalities. He didn't want to disappear from his illness, nor did he want to be ashamed of himself dying Instead, he chose to be the subject of research and show people what death is through his journey from life to death. Throughout the book, Professor Mori communicates the message of life and death and how our relationships with loved ones can help us live forever.
The message of “Tuesdays with Morrie” discusses the central idea of life and death. Every human being is born, lives, and eventually dies. During our lives, we think a lot about how to live well and try hard However, no one can predict death and what happens after death, so they seem to be reluctant to hide it in the corner of their heart and take it out only before death actually hits them. Professor Mori teaches us the meaning of being alive and the
meaning of death through this book He also sends the message that if we know how to die, we know how to live. "Everyone knows that he will die, but no one believes that he will die. If you believe that, we're going to be different people " This is what Professor Mori said to Mitch on the fourth Tuesday. He says that if people know that they're going to die, you can prepare for their death which comes at any time, and they can be more active in their life while they live This process will then make people think about what it's like to be more active during the time they live. In this book, Professor Mori said that if people knew they were going to die, the things that they spend a lot of time on now would not be considered very important, and they would dig deeper into what is related to the soul. This means that when we recognize death, our values for life change.
Another significant part of communicating the message of the story is Professor Mori's words. One of the words he said is in a conversation with Mitch on the 13th Tuesday, titled "Conclusion." "Death is the end of life, not the end of relationships " Professor Mori says, looking at his pink hibiscus flower, that people are unlike the beautiful flower in which death is the end of its life. Instead, although our lives end with death, people have relationships that are alive with the people they love so that they can live in them as memories. This part was very touching. The death of a loved one is so painful, and its existence is no longer tangible, but it can be alive in me as a memory Then, how should we live in the present? Professor Mori wanted to live a more meaningful life for the relationships that would last forever. If people live with all the goals and meanings of their life with materialistic purposes and only for themselves, they probably won't be able to remain alive forever as a beautiful memory with those who lived with them in front of death and after death.
The book “Tuesdays with Morrie” provides a good opportunity for me to think about the meaning of life. Death is something that everyone has to endure at some time in their lives. However, people tend to think of death as a punishment, and it is always something that people are afraid of. People work hard to make money so that they can live. One reason people also have spiritual beliefs is because of death. Topics such as reincarnation, the afterlife, and God bring peace to the minds of those who are afraid of death. However, rather than being afraid of death, people have to understand that according to the laws of nature, everyone is born, lives, and dies What we can do is that when you live your life and have a moment of choice, you can make a choice toward a meaningful life. It may not be perfect, but I believe life will be more valuable if you live with awareness rather than fear.
Mayo Clinic Staff “Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) ” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 13 Oct. 2022, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseasesconditions/amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis/symptoms-causes/syc20354022#:~:text=Amyotrophic%20lateral%20sclerosis%20(a%2 Dmy,who%20was%20diagnosed%20with%20it Accessed 8 Apr 2023.
Black Midi is a relatively new band coming from London, forming in 2017 as a trio consisting of Geordie Greep (who plays vocals, guitar, piano, synths, accordion), Cameron Picton (who plays vocals, bass, synths, flute, guitar), and Morgan Simpson (who plays drums) The group began by playing at shows and releasing their first few singles in 2018, eventually culminating in their ground-breaking debut album, Shlagenheim (2019), nine tracks of noisy, experimental and challenging rock music that creates unceasing, thrilling suspense in its refusal to obey traditional song structures. Instead, Schlagenheim opted for strange, abrasive melodies, sudden sharp spurts of instrumental chaos and abstract lyrical content, the unfettered creativity of which caused the album to be nominated for the mercury prize, one of the most prestigious annual music awards in the UK
However, instead of staying within the realm of sharp, abrasive and erratic experimental noise rock as had been established by their first project, their sophomore album introduced a complete sonic shift that would come to cement their primary refined sound in their following releases. Cavalcade (2021), subtracts the band’s initial metallic din for a genre of progressive rock that dates back to the 60s and 70s, emphasizing conceptual lyrical content, experimentation and ambitious compositions, which allowed the band to more smoothly incorporate elements and textures of soft jazz and jazz rock. This new sound would be refined and intensified following the band’s adrenaline-pumping release Hellfire (2022), but personally, it is in Cavalcade that the band’s ideas are at their most chaotic, scattered, freakishly weird and enchantingly beautiful.
The album cover alone (shown on the left) is discordant, crowded, psychedelic and overwhelming at first glance, a particularly fitting description of not just the music across the whole album, but in particular the album’s first song, John L. At just over 5 minutes, the album plunges the unprepared listener into the cacophony of the music’s world, riddled with blunt, compounding percussion, cacophonous nonmelodies, high-pitched violin strings and faint strangled saxophones that resemble the ugly screech of fingernails against chalkboards, the occasional slamming of a grand piano amongst perhaps a hundred other sounds intertwined within John L’s disorderly instrumental. These different sounds will often start and stop altogether at random intervals leaving very brief, suspenseful silences almost as if to let the listener’s head up out of the water to momentarily breathe before plunging them back into the stormy water as the strange vocals of Geordie Greep echo around the audio as if recorded in a secluded cavern. One of the most amazing segments of the album’s entire composition occurs around the song’s 3 minute mark when much of the instrumentation begins to play in a tense staccato built around a disorienting polyrhythm. The lyrics, meanwhile, depict a tale about a deranged cult leader, named John L (pronounced John Fifty), his failure to satisfy his restless and bloodthirsty followers, and his falling victim to his own cult’s brutality.
In contrast, the second song, Marlene Dietrich, is a far more pleasant sounding song, with groovy bass and smooth, beautiful instrumentation. As opposed to frantic, Greepe approaches this track vocally with a bellowing, passionate and tuneful performance while painting a picture of a scene involving the German-born American actress Marie Magdalene Dietrich performing for a crowd of soldiers during the war. Yet, a sinister tone hangs over the tale, as the song slowly reveals that despite the seemingly uplifting effect the performer has on the soldiers, she may have been concealing some sort of murderous plot unknown to the audience Interpretations of the song do vary, with some interpreting the knife not as part of a plot, but a metaphor for the actress’s sorrow and pain in her performance and its reception by the crowd.
The brevity of Marlene Dietrich, at a little less than 3 minutes in run time, quickly paves way for an energetic return to the instrumental chaos akin to the first track on song three of Cavalcade, Chondromalacia Patella, a song strangely named after a medical condition that leads to chronic knee pain. The song feels fast in tempo and restless, reminiscent of the uncontrollable desire to move that arises out of being rendered immobile The song becomes more and more intense, more and more restless as the song progresses in crescendo, resulting in a mind-boggling instrumental climax which transitions seamlessly into track 4, Slow, a deeply existential piece that captures a feeling of prolonged dread The vocals, this time delivered by Cameron Picton, shrink into a haunting whisper as the song builds a formidable sense of unresolved strain as the vocals narrate the thoughts of a person impatiently waiting for life to end watching as their existence comes to a gratingly gradual deterioration. There is something chillingly nihilistic about the concept that the song generates through both its meticulous composition and poetically written lyricism. Track 5, Diamond Stuff, slightly slower in tempo, creates a contemplative and mysteriously reflective atmosphere that over the course of its 6 minute runtime expands and blossoms with the euphoriainducing harmonies of a faint ethereal choir that gradually comes into audible focus. It serves as one of the most awe-inspiring, transcendent and beautiful songs across the entire album in how the song’s minimalist texture develops and reaches its instrumental culmination Another seamless transition leads the listener into Dethroned, a 5 minute track that lyrically begins to discuss ideas surrounding a character who has been literally dethroned in either a literal or more figurative sense, and struggles in his thoughts as he tries to come to terms with his situation but continues to delude himself with denial and refusal to see the situation as is.
Track 7, Hogwash and Balderdash is perhaps the most volatile and dissonant of the songs musically on the album which makes sense as the song’s title is a direct reference to “nonsense”. The lyrics are just as absurd, describing 2 runaway convicts characterized as chickens named Hogwash and Balderdash that are hiding from the law The characters begin to grapple with ideas of defeat and giving up as the law appears to them to be unavoidable at every turn, leading to a sudden and abrupt spike in sonic intensity before abruptly leading to the album’s final and eighth song, Ascending Forth, just short of 10 minutes in full length. Yet for all of the abrupt changes and sudden shifts that Black Midi laces throughout their musical work, Ascending Forth forgoes violent experimentation for a calmer, meditative whilst still grand and gratifying ballad about a writer named Mark trapped in his own writer’s block while trying to compose new music The jazzy saxophone passages on the track are gorgeous, and both Greepe’s singing and the string-based instrumentation on this last song feel like a slightly somber and bittersweet emotional farewell as Mark is taken away for his attempts to break the norms expected of him and his art. The song eventually builds up to a gushing, breath-takingly powerful climax, not overwhelming for its abrasiveness and sharp edges as may have been the case on Black Midi’s previous work, but instead overwhelming in its gentleness and almost tear-wrenching glamor and beauty
As Black Midi continues to create and release modern ground-breaking and norm-subverting styles of experimental rock, it may very well become the case that Cavalcade will become overlooked in comparison to the more bombastic and hard-hitting albums released adjacently in their discography. And while Cavalcade is certainly not an album without its technical flaws, such as the slightly questionable mixing on some of the album’s later tracks, I found that underneath Black Midi’s usual instrumental creative madness and volatility, as well as the album’s cryptic vocabulary and symbolic/metaphorical lyrical contents, lies a heartfelt and introspective album about their band’s self-perception in a modern music industry, as well as consistent themes of anxiety surrounding death and downfall throughout these songs that perhaps shed light on some of Black Midi’s most human and relatable themes expressed to date Cavalcade may just barely not be my number one favorite Black Midi album, but it is perhaps their project that I emotionally resonate with most allowing me as a fan and listener to peer into the window of not just their creative thoughts, but also those thoughts perhaps slightly more vulnerable and come from a more personal and existential space. I applaud this album and the rest of their expanding catalog, and wish the band the very best in their future against-the-grain musical endeavors.
Source(s):
https://en wikipedia org/wiki/Black Midi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavalcade (Black Midi album)
https://genius.com/albums/Black-midi/Cavalcade
Several months went by after Skipper left. Dr. Richardson recovered fine, his memory was shaky for a few weeks but he was back in the classroom pod teaching us in no time Since I had piloted us back to safety, I was fast tracked to field training in just one month. Arnold had to go through a two month course to get the proper certification and join me
All the things we did were triple checked and all based on a procedure. We had a few drills every now and then.
“No! Turn it left!” I yelled at Arnold
“Hang on!” He jerked the steering stick left and we flipped upside down.
“Ah!” He screamed.
“Give me the contro-“ I was interrupted by the submarine shaking violently briefly.
“Just-“ I flicked a switch next to his controls and passed the controls to my stick.
I veered left and did a loopty loop to get us facing correctly. We sat for a moment, recouping from the embarrassment we had just performed.
“That boys, is why you must-“ We cut him off in unison
“Be aware of the currents.”
“Precisely! Right, back home, Arnold you give it a whirl.” The scariest part of the training was out-of-submarine exploration We had to put on wet suits that were pressurized enough so we wouldn’t explode into a fine red mist. We had to be extremely careful not to cut the suit in any way
“Okay boys, be very careful. Go to the designated objective and grab the target.” Dr. Richardson’s staticky voice said over the radio.
“Okay, Arnold, you hold the clam open and I’ll grab the target ” I commanded.
“Alright.” Arnold replied.
Arnold came up next to me and pried the clam open, his arms shaking as it tried to slam shut.
“Go! Go! Go!” he said quickly.
I reached in and quickly grabbed the red-blue cube that Dr. Richardson had planted there a few days earlier.
Arnold let go and the clam slammed shut
After several months of similar kinds of training missions, field trips and scientific papers, we graduated from apprenticeship. We’d been waiting years for this, as Scientists in Training we would be allowed to pilot submarines, perform or help with deep sea research, do research in a lab capacity, more tediously, we would be taught submarine maintenance, and most excitingly access to one of the many research bases like ours
“Adam Stinley, Arnold Lawson, you are no longer apprentices but now my Assistants.” Dr. Richardson said.
And that was that
Me and Arnold exchanged a quick glance as a pang of disappointment spread across both of us.
“Let’s go, quickly, quickly, there is no time for pomp and circumstance ” Dr. Richardson rushed us along.
We were quickly given lab uniforms, submarine uniforms, experimentation uniforms, formal uniforms, new identification cards for each location,and a slew of 8 digit codes for places we would need to be.
We were even removed from our sleeping pod and taken up a level to the apprentice sleeping pods. It had been empty for years, and we were finally in them.
“You’ve got an hour to get yourselves settled and put your things away Come to my lab when you are ready.” Dr. Richardson instructed us. There were only two sleeping pods in this room. There was a large window overlooking the reef and two desks protruding from the walls next to hanging racks for our many uniforms and clothes.
“This is different.” Arnold said.
“I really thought there would be more to our graduation No ceremony, not even a nice email.” I said.
“Me too… just straight to work like always I guess.” Arnold replied. “Alright, I’ll take the pod and desk on the left if that’s good with you ” I proposed.
“I’m fine with that.”
The hour passed and we were once again in a classroom. We now had to memorize emergency procedures in the event of a sub breach.
“There is no hope if you are in a Guppy ” Dr Richardson said bleakly
“That is why on deep sea missions it is imperative that you wear your deep sea suit at all times.” He finished.
“Okay What if there are Pirates?” I asked “Ah, Pirates. The Anthoids are very hostile towards us humans, this is a well known fact. If possible, attempt to communicate with them before they destroy your submarine Remember, they are intelligent You must use what you were taught as an apprentice and try to make peace and return to base.” Dr. Richardson said.
“And if we’re captured?” Arnold asked “Fight to your last breath.” Dr. Richardson said coldly. We both nodded and took mental note of our instructions.
The day went by like clockwork
As I laid in my pod I kept thinking about the day's events. As I stared at the ceiling through my pod I heard something.
Weeshhhhhhhhh
I’d never heard it before.
Shhhhhhhhhhhh
It kept going.
I got very tired and my eyelids started to fall. I tried to open my pod but it was the designated time to sleep I wasn’t tired at all before but now I could barely think.
Shhhhhh
My arms got heavy and I couldn’t even strain my neck Then I fell asleep.
I woke up the next morning jarred.
My pod cracked open and so did Arnolds
“Did you hear a low whooshing sound last night when you tried to sleep?” I asked.
“Yeah.. it was weird. I fell asleep quickly though.” Arnold shrugged it off.
I found it creepy
“Why do they want us to sleep so urgently?” I asked him.
“I don’t know, but I know that sleep is good for you.” Arnold replied groggily
“Well, yeah sleep is good for you. But is mystery gas that makes you fall asleep good for you?” I asked.
“If it was dangerous would they put it in our pods?” Arnold asked back “Well…” I had no response.
The conversation fizzled and we went to the dining pod for nutrition paste as usual
After ‘breakfast’ we headed to Dr. Richardsons lab. This was our first test of the dozen codes we needed to memorize.
“Okay, let’s see if I can do this first try ” I said “No way..” Arnold replied.
“*-#-6-5-4-8-6-7-9” I recited.
ERRR! INCORRECT PASSCODE. Arnold laughed.
“Move-move I got this ”
“Oh do you now?” I asked.
“*-#6-5-4-8-9-7-6-8!” Arnold recited arrogantly.
ERRRR! INCORRECT PASSCODE
“I gOt thIs.” I mocked Arnold.
“Oh shuddup..” He smirked.
“What about, *#6-5-4-8-9-9-6-8?” I tried
ERRRR! INCORRECT PASSCODE.
DOOR: LOCKED.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN IN 5 MINUTES
“Oh no..” I said.
“Dr Richardson isn’t going to be-”
Sffff
The door opened and we were greeted by Dr. Richardson with a welding mask flapped upwards.
“I was working on my submarine and I heard all this racket..” He said. We both looked down trying not to burst out laughing
“You didn’t forget the code now… did you?” He asked.
“There is a slight chance we may have forgotten the code.” Arnold said. Dr Richardson sighed
“Boys, it’s #-*-6-5-4-8-6-7-9.” He put it into the number pad.
LOCK: OPEN WELCOME, DR RICHARDSON
I smacked my face in embarrassment.
“You flipped the # and * didn’t you?” Dr. Richardson chuckled lightly.
“Alright Move along, we have a mission today ” Dr Richardson said We walked down the hallway into his lab as he explained.
“We have been given orders to go to the deep sea and try and locate a solumus collom There have been several sightings of one and the reports have it located closer and closer to the base each time. Our job is to find it and corrale it away.” Dr. Richardson said.
“And if we can’t?” I asked.
“Then we kill it.” Dr. Richardson said.
*It took a while to get our deep sea diving suits on. They were uncomfortable, warm. air tight latex and rubber stayed glued to us to protect us from the deep pressure environment should our submarine explode.
We got to the docking bay and saw three submarines. Not only was this our first field mission, but our first mission where we were independent of one another in our own submarines.
“Alright. Once the bay opens, meet by the reef.” Dr. Richardson ordered
We nodded.
I walked up to my submarine
There was a large XXIV painted on the side.
“What does this number mean?” I turned around to ask Dr. Richardson. He was already in his submarine.
I pressed a keycard I was given to the door of the sub.
Sffff cracckckc
The air-tight door opened and a small foot ladder deployed. I climbed into the sub and I could tell it had been used before. The seats were covered in rubber patches and the controls had been fried once or twice. I quickly sat down and buckled in.
I turned on the communication server and pressed a button on the side of my helmet
Cracackakrkalllalclarecllacl
I was greeted by radio static.
“Dr Richardson, what does the number on the side mean?” I asked Ckaclkraaccalkcr
B-BEEP
“It’s your call sign while in that submarine ” Dr Richardson replied “Controlman, we are ready to go.” Dr. Richardson said on the radio.
“Beginning air removal.” The controlman replied.
I heard the familiar sound of the pumps turning on and getting ready to fill the room. They turned on and the water burst through the pumps filling the air lock The water grabbed my submarine and threw me around, and I was pushed out of the airlock.
I ran through the steps that we had gone through with Dr. Richardson.
Step 1: Find your bearings
There is an orbital ball in the middle of the control panel that was pointed which way was up.
Step 2: Locate your group
Use comms and the radar panel to find the rest of your group.
Step 3: Stay with your group and carry out the mission
We carried out the steps and were an hour into our mission when things fell apart
We were doing a fanning search of the deep sea where it had been spotted and I strayed into a cave.
“What was that?” Arnold asked over the radio.
“What was what?” I responded.
“24, and 18, use proper call signs ” Dr Richardson chirped in “Oh right, 18, what was your sighting?” I asked.
“24, I saw a blue tail briefly fly by my- clclclclclclclcl”
“18, I lost connection with you, please repeat ” I asked “I-- it-- clclclclc - get- clclclclcl” He was trying to say something.
“24, get-- clclclcllc --NOW!” Dr. Richardson said.
I glanced at the communications indicator and it read:
CONNECTION: LOST
Since the whole sea had been dark and murky I hadn’t noticed where I had slipped into My front lights were on but I couldn't see anything, I turned them up brighter and saw eyes staring back at me.
“AH!” I screamed to myself.
They quickly swam away
I had a look at the on board navigation map and saw I was in a tight cave. I grabbed the sticks to see if I had room to turn around.
Thud.
I hit the side of the cave. All i could do was to keep moving forward and hope there was and hope the cave opened on the other side The last thing I wanted to do was leave the submarine behind and get back home in my deep sea suit.
Suddenly I jerked upwards and slammed into the cave ceiling
Clksclkcsklcsk
I heard scratching.
Thud, thud, thud
Something was banging the back part of the submarine. Emergency damage warnings started appearing.
I tried using an electric burst to deter whatever was attacking me but weapons systems had stopped responding Thud, Thud, THUD!
It got louder. A warning started flashing on the control panel. ENGINE 1 COMPROMISED. Then another ENGINE 2 OFFLINE.
I felt my submarine start rocking, as if someone was shaking it. I quickly double checked the oxygen filtration system and prepared to have to swim out of the cave.
Suddenly my cockpit window was swarmed. Tails, hands, hammers, spears, all jabbing and slamming into it The glass started to crack and I realized the worst. Anthoids.
It was a Sunday morning. I woke up at the alarm clock that was so loud I thought my ears were bleeding I was kind of annoyed at the sound of the alarm clock but soon felt better after watching the beautiful view that was open in the window The morning seemed normal until I felt this urge to scream at the top of my lungs. I screamed so loud that even the birds sitting on the tree in front of the window got surprised and flew away. My mom ran to my room to see if I was okay I said,
“I felt this urge to scream and if I don’t do it, I feel uncomfortable.”
My mom seemed confused and worried at the same time I screamed again and again and again. My mom grabbed my hand and took me to the doctor's office I explained my symptoms to the doctor The doctor was looking at my face for a very long time and finally opened his mouth. The words coming out of his mouth were shocking. He said, “your daughter seems to have tourettes syndrome ”
My mom and I stared at each other and bursted into laughter. The doctor looked at us with eyes of concern I think it was because of the shock After laughing, we calmed down and listened to the doctor more. The doctor was talking like forever Finally he stopped talking and gave us medicine We walked out of the hospital. The way to school was very awkward. I dropped off the car and I screamed one more time. People started to stare at me and I felt social anxiety When I arrived at my classroom, I screamed again Everyone stared at me with disgust, thinking that I'm making these sounds on purpose. I walked past the front of the class, feeling the burning stares from my classmates I went to the teacher and told her I want to talk to her outside of the classroom. We walked out. I was a bit scared to talk about my tourettes I just got diagnosed with A few minutes passed with awkward silence Then I finally opened my mouth.
“I went to the doctors today because I couldn’t stop-” Then I screamed again. The teacher was shocked.
“Sorry As you can see, I just started developing tourettes They suddenly happened out of nowhere and I just won’t stop screaming.”
“Oh... Okay let me contact the principal to see what we should do Go ahead and sit in the classroom and wait until I come back.”
I went back to my class and sat down on my seat. I started screaming again.
“Hey!”
I turned around and found out who it was. It was Aiden. He is the biggest bully in our school, and obviously was mean to me because of my new condition
“Stop screaming, stupid. You're being very annoying.”
I stared at him with disbelief. I screamed it again.
“HEY CUT IT OFF”
“Sorry. But if I was able to stop it, I would have.”
“What do you mean?”
“I have tourettes, so I can’t help it.”
“You’re lying You didn’t tic yesterday.”
“Well, I just developed it today this-” I screamed again.
“This morning.”
“Lier”
“I'm not lying”.
“You are!”
“How many times do I have to tell you! I am NOT faking.Why would I even do such a thing?”
And then Jenna stood up. Just in case you don’t know who she is, I'll tell you in a very simple way. She is my crush.
“He isn’t a person who would fake a disability.”
And when she stood up for me, I felt like I owned the whole world.
“Well, four eyes, since when were you that close with him to stand up for him?”
“Maybe they’re dating!”
Now that was Jaden, Aiden’s friend He’s also a bully. I couldn’t stand them I finally said, “HEY”
And then the teacher came in “Hey Alex, what's wrong?”
I rolled my eyes and said, “nothing ”
She called me out of the classroom and I walked to the third floor to the counseling office. I went into the office and sat down on the sofa. Then after a while, the teacher called me in so I went into the room I had never been in the counseling office before, so I was very interested in what was there. There were fidget toys such as snappers, popits, fidget balls, and squishies I grabbed a blue fidget ball and sat on the chair in front of the principal. He stared at me with worried eyes It was a bit awkward so I looked away. It has been 3 minutes since i’ve been in this room and still no conversation. Then, he finally opened his mouth.
“So, I heard that you developed tourette's this morning. Is everything alright?”
“I don’t know. It just happened this morning and I’m just very scared.”
“I understand I know this might sound crazy, but I want other students to know about this disability and learn more about it. So I was wondering, would you like to make a presentation and present it during chore time in the auditorium?”
I was confused about his words, but I accepted his request. It was the following night I sat down in my chair getting ready to make my presentation. I made it for the whole night. I slept at 3AM, the latest time I slept so far. When I was done, I was so proud of myself. Now it’s time to present.
-Part two will come out soon!-
The streets were crowded with shoppers and passersby as I ran from the town’s square It was market day and the vendors were out, selling everything from supermarket produce to marinated silkworms. Good. It would provide good cover so I don’t get caught Running away was probably stupid, even without preparation or a place to stay the night, but I’d done it anyway.
Why have I run away?
I guess it was many things
Across many months.
But most of all, it was shame that I had covered up under my sweatshirt as I made my way out of the market and up towards the apartments that rose up on the horizon.
Where would I stay now, I wondered.
I walked and walked I finally reached the old playground at the top of the hill and slid down one of the tunnel slides. My head popped out the other end. The sky was cerulean with a river of persimmon and coral running across the horizon.
I couldn’t stop myself from bursting into tears. I wasn’t quite sure why; shame, guilt, anger? Melancholy at the past that now seemed to be covered in a tight layer of webbing that I couldn’t get out of? I squeezed my eyes shut
I must have fallen asleep because when I opened my eyes again, the sky had turned a dark purple, the sun out of view. I squeezed my eyes shut again and groaned, turning over in the slide When I opened my eyes again, two white feet were staring back at me. I looked up and saw a slim woman smiling down at me. Her eyes were the same cerulean blue from the sky earlier today, her hair shiny black, and her skin looked perfectly white under the street lights
“Did you run away from home?”
The question startled me out of my trance I jerked my head down, hoping she wouldn’t see my anger in my eyes. It wasn’t as if she was wrong. That’s how we stayed as the night ticked on. I hoped she would just leave, or turn away enough so that I could make a run for it, but no such miracle came Rather it began to rain.
It started off as a light drizzle, but soon enough a small river was forming, running down the hill into the city streets below.
“My house is right around the corner, you can stay there until the rain stops!”
The lady screamed through the downpour Oh great, she still hasn’t left I had hidden myself in the tunnel slide and remained fairly dry, but I was pretty sure a wall of plastic wasn’t going to protect me from a cold and a fever Whoever this nosy lady was, she didn’t deserve to get ill because of someone like me. I crawled out of the tunnel and we trudged our way to the apartments a little ways off.
She lived at the very top floor, and wasn’t as clean of a person as I had thought of her to be. It wasn't as if there were clothes strewn everywhere with a full sink, but there were definitely a few shirts here and there, with there being just enough space on the marble countertop for a wristwatch.
“Wait here”
The lady went into one of the rooms and came back with a fresh set of new clothes. I was told to shower and put them on.
“I’ll use the other bathroom.”
She said before I could open my mouth to argue We rendezvoused back in the living room, and sat on opposite ends of the sofa. I realized I hadn’t asked for the lady’s name yet
“Alice”, she replied when I asked I thought of asking for her last name, but couldn’t find the right moment, and felt too embarrassed to do so. She’d done me so many favors already; saying something felt like a distraction A ding came from the kitchen, breaking the silence. It was almost midnight. Alice went and came back with cup noodles.
“You can have this, I’ll make another for myself ”
Only an extended umm made its way out of my mouth as I took the cup in my hands. Soon enough we were sitting on the sofa once again, slurping piping hot ramen with My Strange Friend playing on the TV I must have been really tired, because the next time I opened my eyes the room was empty and white light from a blue sky filled the room.
I sat there for a moment and stared at the icing smeared across the floor. I dipped my finger in it and brought it close to my lips Suddenly, the phone rang, the noise shaking any strange me out of my trance. I hesitated then stood up with a grunt before almost falling over again. Blood spewed out of my ankle as I caught myself, and continued to hop towards the kitchen table The blue light from the phone illuminated the blue evening in even more blue, as I read the white numbers on the screen
It was mom calling