On Saturday January 28, Alta’s Auditorium will house a panel of experts on China. Three local professors will talk about Asia’s emerging superpower to students, teachers, and parents. This is all part of Mr. Ochoa’s series of U.S. and world history programs that will concentrate on past history and current history-in-the-making. Local and national experts are to be brought in during the next couple of months to discuss history. Everyone in the Alta community is invited to attend this event, as well as some other schools. The admission is $5, but groups of five students can get in for $20. Registration is at 8:30 am with the first session from 9 to 10:15. After the panel discussion entitled ‘Dynamics of Change in China,’ the three individuals will teach their own workshop sessions from 10:30 to noon. Asian Studies Coordinator Eric Hyer of the BYU Political Science Department  will teach the first seminar entitled ‘The System Mao Built.’ The second workshop, ‘Taking the Capitalist Road,’ will be taught by the U’s Minqi Li, author of The Rise of China and The Demise of the Capitalist World-Economy. The third workshop will emphasize civil society in China, specifically the Legacy of Tiananmen Square. Janet Theiss, of the U’s History Department, is Director of the Asian Studies Program at the U and also wrote The Unsettling Nature of Women’s Agency in Chinese History. She will be leading this session. Students and teachers are encouraged to attend. There will be opportunities to ask questions and learn a great deal about the rising giant, China during both the panel discussion and following workshops.
    The goal of this program is to inform the community and address important historical and current issues. Mr. Holmes said, “All students will learn something important that will help them better understand what’s been happening in China and how China will most certainly affect the future of the United States.” This information will especially help AP World History and Comparative Government students as they can apply what they are learning and will be tested on in May. There is much to learn about China, and if you’re interested in gaining some of that information, mark January 28 on your calendar.

    New Years Eve celebrations bring thoughts of what has happened and what the future will bring to mind. It's a time of looking forward to the new year, and a time of change. A New Year's resolution is a commitment that a person makes to one or more lasting personal goals, projects, or changing a habit. This goal must be reached by the next New Year. Popular goals include losing weight, improving finances, getting a better job, getting a better education, being more organized, and being more charitable. These are few of the many, many new years resolutions people have. Here are 10 of the most popular New Years Resolutions:
    1. Spend more time with family and friends.
    2. Get fit, exercise more.
    3. Lose weight.
    4. Quit smoking.
    5. Enjoy life more; take time to smell the roses.
    6. Stop drinking.
    7. Get out of debt.
    8. Learn something new.
    9. Help others.
    10. Get organized.
     It seems that year after year people pick the same old resolutions, and never fulfill them. This year, instead of picking the usual boring resolution — that you’re not going to follow through with anyway — why not pick something fun, try something new?  As you ring in the new year, pick some new resolutions. The most important thing to remember is a new year brings new opportunities, and time for change. Have a great 2012.

    The year of 2011 has proven fruitful on many entertainment levels, but perhaps none has been more notable than new musical releases. After extensive study and listening, I have compiled my list of the year's best five albums based on several aspects including: originality, talent, multi-dimensional, timelessness, etc. Keep in mind that while this article is an opinion, I have spent the year listening to new music with this list in mind. So here we go.

5. CANT - Dreams Come True

    When Chris Taylor, bassist/producer/multi-instrumentalist of the band Grizzly Bear, released his debut solo album under the moniker CANT, listeners weren't sure what to expect.
    But the sounds heard on Dreams Come True are extremely fresh and unique. Taylor's airy and gentle vocals are supported by the ethereal keyboards, drums, and bass lines. His production heavy ballads are recognizable and dynamic.
     Creating very catchy and poppy melodies, every song provides something diverse while keeping the album cohesively listenable.

4. Radiohead - The King of Limbs

    The iconic British leaders in the music world took a new angle with The King of Limbs, dabbling in new musical areas with more precise and electronic loops. The album focuses heavily on bass and drums, taking on a minimalist and intimate sound, even becoming a modern take on free form jazz, at times.
    You could even split the album in half, the first, being fast paced and loop heavy. The latter, being soft, deeply melodic, and thoughtful.
    Radiohead takes a very new direction with their latest album, being more technical and personal than on other album before, which has garnered some critics, but the album works as an amazing piece of modern art.

3. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

    Fleet Foxes second album, Helplessness Blues creates something completely refreshing on the musical landscape. Actually when I first heard this album, I considered it to be the best album of the year. It's not that it's so new or spastic that it is amazing; in fact it's quite the opposite.
    The way the album works together to create a very organic, personal, and unique atmosphere draws you in and requires your attention. It satisfies in the most familiar yet unexpected way.
    Some songs even transform into two or three parts in one, reminding you of the artistic wonderful eye to detail the band has. Helplessness Blues also creates a modern connectivity to classic folk singers of the 60's and 70's, while retaining its originality. The album succeeds on such a deep level; it can only be understood by listening to it.

2. Bon Iver - Bon Iver

    In 2008, Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) released For Emma, Forever Ago a somber, melodic, and very listenable acoustic album, that received rave reviews. In 2011, when he released his self-titled album, listeners wondered if Vernon was a one trick pony, limited to mournful classical guitar "driven" tracks.
    But Bon Iver truly one of the most diverse and wonderfully orchestrated albums I have ever heard. Trading in his acoustic guitar for vast orchestra of electric guitars, brass, drums, key arrangements, and an expanse of new sounds, Vernon proves himself far beyond any expectations.
    Constructing complex and fantastic songs that show his power and transformation as an artist, Vernon has become something so creative and new that it deserves wide recognition and attention. With very serious yet catchy muddy guitar parts, dramatic percussion, and brass backing melodies, the songs are incredibly tasteful and unique.
     But don't worry; he still retains his classic gorgeous and heart breaking falsetto vocals. Bon Iver is triumphantly bold, but gentile on several levels and reaches new musical heights, without being too foreign to the listener. 
    With his new album, Vernon has utterly captured his listeners and crystallized himself as a powerful force in the music world.

1. James Blake - James Blake

    This 23 year-old music producer from England quietly came on to the music scene in 2009 with his self-released completely electronic and abstract EP’s.  Creating little public noise, but being very distinct and detailed in his musical creation, you can tell James Blake is a student (and producer) of music.
    But in February of this year when he released his full length self-titled and self-produced album, he did something in the music world that had never been approached or discovered.  All his previous EP’s had been just ambient electronic flares, doing not much else.
    So hearing him sing on this album was a surprise; a remarkable surprise.  His voice is nearly perfect, incredibly sweet, and soulful, drawing from singers like Stevie Wonder, D’Angelo, and Joni Mitchell. 
    The heavenly contrast, however, lies between his voice and the sounds on the album, being electronic, ambient, and heavily dreamy.  Relying on lush keyboards, looped vocals, and simple percussions, Blake starts a new minimalism movement in music, and even coins a new genre: post-dubstep. 
    He never drifts too far from his main ideas on songs, but lets you feel light and fluid.  The innovation and stark originality on James Blake is truly unmatched and unrealized by anyone, but Blake. 
    Appealing to listeners in new and unexpected ways, making a completely palpable and cohesive album, and creating new grounds in the music world, earns James Blake’s solo debut album the title, best of 2011.  MUST LISTEN.  
Posted 12/4/11     

Monday: January 30
Mostly Cloudy
38°F
Tuesday: January 31
Partly Cloudy
39°F
Wednesday: February 1
Showers
40°F
Thursday: February 2
Mostly Sunny
39°F
Friday: February 3
Partly Cloudy
40°F
Saturday: February 4
Cloudy
43°F
Sunday: February 5
Partly Cloudy
44°F

Monday-How I Met Your Mother: CBS, 7:00 PM Tuesday-Glee: Fox, 7:00 PM
Wednesday-Up All Night: NBC, 7:00 PM
Thursday-The Office: NBC, 8:00 PM
Friday-What Not to Wear: TLC, 10:00 PM
Saturday-Saturday Night Live: The CW, 10:30
Sunday-Hell on Wheels: AMC, 8:00 PM