Ida Thoresen, a photography student from Norway, explored the world of fandom this summer, specifically the fandom of the American rock band My Chemical Romance. She was in a young teen when she decided to dedicate her life to the art of photography and has since found her inspiration through music, another huge interest in her life.

”This Is The MCRmy” is the project she’s been working on for the last several months and it’s meant to give an insight to the heart of a die-hard fan. A “fandom” is a term used to refer to a community of fans which grow around a certain area or interest. It can be fans of books, movies, TV shows, common hobbies — or in this case, a band.

“My Chemical Romance tend to have extremely dedicated fans who are passionate about the music, the community they have created, and they are often creative and intelligent people,” said Thoresen. “I wanted to explore who their fans are, why they are fans and get to know them. The result this far is very much a celebration and documentation of their spirit.”

Thoresen has been a fan of My Chemical Romance herself for many years and finds the fandom an interesting phenomena. With this project she asks herself a question that is common among fans of many bands: ‘How can a band become such an important part of people’s lives?’

”I can still become a little puzzled over why on earth one band — four guys who create music together — can mean so much to myself and so many people all over the world,” said Thoresen.

She wanted to get to know these fans to find answers, discuss the matter and find what they might all have in common through the fandom they are all involved in. By talking to fans among her own friends and through other communities she found that it was a question that many were curious about, and so decided to show them through the lens of her camera.

“It would have been easy if I had unlimited time and money, but I was on a strict schedule with no budget,” said Thoresen. “I had to dig deep through Internet communities and even newspaper articles to find fans who lived fairly close to me.”

The project involves photos of teenage and young adult fans who have followed My Chemical Romance from different areas of the band’s existence. Each subject is portrayed with something from the My Chemical Romance world that means a lot to them, everything from tattoos or the band’s designed clothes to their proud collections of records and special editions.

“It surprised me many times through it in terms of the visual direction it was taking and how the story was moving along. But to me it still feels like I’ve just been scratching the surface. I realized before I started that this would be a long-term project, and it’s one that I’m more than willing to pursue,” said Thoresen. “It’s a combination of both my biggest passions, photography and music, so I won’t stop until I can look at a finished project and feel that I’m proud of what I’ve created.”

You can see Ida Thoresen’s project “This is MCRmy” on www.idathoresen.tumblr.com and http://magazine.bildernordic.no/photographers/alumni-2013/ida-thoresen.aspx.

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In the past, the dangers of being a baseball fan have mostly consisted of watching out for foul balls, broken bats and rowdy fans.  However, in the last year and more recently in the past few weeks, the baseball community has been faced with the tragedy of two Ranger’s fans dying from falling over the railings in front of their seats. How could this tragedy have happened, you ask? What can be done to prevent such things from happening again in the future?

The answer is as simple as it is complicated. These fans were just at the games, having a nice time with their friends or family and due to the lack of netting or high railings to prevent them from leaning too far over, their lives were cut short. Of course, one could argue that these people should not have been leaning over in the first place, but fans do this everyday trying to catch fly balls.

It is also probable that a person who is in the midst of a frenzy of people who are celebrating a great play, or going for balls themselves could be accidently knocked off balance and run the risk of falling over the usually modest railing.

Therefore, something has to be done. Taller railings, you say? Yes, that might work, but then you run the risk of impeding a fan’s view of the game. Then ticket sales might go down. Then the team goes bankrupt.

Alright, how about not letting people sit in the front row? Well, then what’s the point of having a front row to begin with? People in the next row up are still going to push and dive and fight for balls.

This is a dilemma, but one where the question of safety needs to be paramount. Here is a suggestion based upon some careful thought, and on the experience of one lucky guy who was narrowly saved from going over the edge.

During the Home-Run Derby a few weeks ago, a man on a high tier of the stadium leaned over the classically too short railing but thankfully, was grabbed in time by two friends. As he hung from the deck, the people around him (apart from his friends who were holding him as the other seats of the stadium loomed below) seemed unfazed and were clearly very focused on catching the ball. Thank goodness for that guy’s friends.

Therefore, it is clear that every fan is in need of the same kind of protection that those friends provided. No, I’m not suggesting that every stadium hire personal bodyguards for each fan who sits in front of a railing. Rather, I’d say that stadiums should seriously consider installing something along the lines of netting, whether it be basket type nets that could catch people who fall over from the upper decks or vertical and non-view obstructing nets (like the kind behind home plate) that would prevent people from going over all together.

This may sound like an idea to turn baseball stadiums into a giant man made spider-web of nets, but in the long run it, or an idea like it, would save lives that should never be lost.

D Silva / Shutterstock.com

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This series has history written all over it. The Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins will square off and compete for Lord Stanley’s Cup starting Wednesday June 1^st, in what hockey fans are hoping will be a very entertaining series.

Hockey, a sport so rich in Canadian culture and history, has not seen any of its NHL representatives lift the cup in victory since the Montreal Canadians beat Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings in 1993. 18 years is unacceptable for Canadian fans, and they’re hoping that the Canucks can bring the championship back to it’s home country.

Boston on the other hand is a team that has been a perennial contender as of late, but has always seemed to fall short of their goals come playoff time. They are challenging for their first title since 1972 when legend Bobby Orr led them to victory over the New York Rangers. As we all know, Boston fans want rings, not finals appearances, and won’t rest until they see their beloved Bruins skating around the ice with the iconic silver cup held high over their heads.

These two teams tirelessly battled past many good teams en route to where they are now. So what should we look for in this series?

First of all, if any team wants to make a run at a championship, they’re going to need big performances out of their star players. In hockey, especially come playoff time, we all know that a hot goalie can bring a team as far as they want to go. Both Boston’s Tim Thomas and Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo are some of the best in the business, and are going to have to show off their cat-like reflexes in this series should they want to lift the cup themselves.

That brings us to the rest of the big-time players on the ice. Let’s start with Vancouver. Everybody knows about Daniel and Henrik Sedin. The twins have had great careers for the Canucks and brought them to the playoffs countless times, but really have struggled at times this year, worrying fans they they might not be the leaders they thought they were. Boy were they wrong, against San Jose they scored points left and right, and began to show why both these first-round picks are the keys to the cup.

Another player Vancouver will need to step up is Ryan Kesler. In fact, if you ask me, he is centerpiece for this team. Much rumor has it that Kesler is in line to compete for the Conn Smythe Trophy as the NHL Playoff’s Most Valuable Player. He will have to keep up his outstanding play if Vancouver wants to knock off the Bruins.

So what about Boston? Two words, one giant man: Zdeno Chara. He is a mammoth on the ice, and not only is he half-impossible for opposing scorers to get around on the defensive end, but possesses a deadly 100+ miles per hour slap-shot that will strike fear into any goalkeeper.

The Canadian fans, and players for that matter, will undoubtedly be ready for this task. They want nothing more than to bring the cup back to Canada where they believe it deserves to be. However, despite the Canucks being the best team in the NHL, the Bruins will not back down to anyone. They may have flaws, but they are scrappy, hard-nosed, and have a fan-base on their side that can match up with the best of them.

Look for an entertaining series with both teams laying everything on the line. My prediction? Vancouver in seven.

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Their great music comes again like a lightning thunder. The band Death Cab for Cutie brings up a big smile onto their fans and followers faces, by by releasing their new album new album named Codes and Keys yesterday May 31^st , via Atlantic Records.

With this release, the band will already reach a sum of seven albums. You can hear the tracklist  that is being featured on npr.com.

The fans could interact for about one hour with the band on Facebook. Once the Album was released the comments and wall posts flooded Death Cab for Cutie’s page on Facebook. The band was talking to their fans, and responded to many comments, and questions.

The album features singles: “You are a Tourist, “Codes and Keys, and “Home is a Fire” which will arrive first in U.K May 30, and a day later in U.S.A.

The album is componed by eleven songs that involve the listener into a great atmosphere where the instruments just blend with the voices and create the perfect mixture. Death Cab’s style is unique, and they offer great Indie Music.

This are the eleven tracks that the album features:

1. Home Is a Fire
2. Codes and Keys
3. Some Boys
4. Doors Unlocked and Open
5. You Are a Tourist
6. Unobstructed Views
7. Monday Morning
8. Portable Television
9. Underneath the Sycamore
10. St. Peter’s Cathedral
11. Stay Young, Go Dancing

A great description about the album was described by Andy Gill in The Independent, mentioning that : “there’s an ease and comfort about the songs that suggests they fell into place naturally, rather than suffering endless alterations; and the band seem content to let them breathe and take on a life of their own, rather than freight them with unnecessary adornment”.

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