HOW WE RUINED THE INTERNET: AN OPINION PIECE- SEGMENT 1* By Claire Guiney
Introduction There is no doubt that the internet is humanity’s finest creation. People around the world are interconnected in ways they couldn’t have been before. We use the internet to talk about our lives, sell products, showcase our creative ideas, share opinions, recipes, advice; it’s a swirling vortex of human knowledge and creativity . Nevertheless, the internet has shifted from creative, humane spaces to a corporate toxic wasteland, littered with social media, algorithms and ads. What was the web like when advertisements were banned? Before search engines existed? What did people do to express their opinions before Twitter? And did we “ruin” the internet? B.G (Before Google) and A.G (after Google) Even though it may seem like the World Wide Web is entirely on Google, search engines aren’t actually the internet itself. They’re simply used to find websites needed for whatever purpose. According to Internet Live Stats, Google is used for 64 percent of all searches on the internet, at approximately 8.5 billion searches per day. Before Google, and search engines as a whole were popularized, web rings and link directories were used to find certain websites, usually grouped based on what the websites were about. They could be food or sport related, or they could be personal websites about certain topics (like bands or virtual pets). While these come nowhere near close to the efficient methods that search engines use, they did have a one-up on Google: webrings and link directories expose you to more websites, allowing you to “surf” the web. See, modern search engines have an algorithm called SEO, or “search engine optimization”, which, according to Wikipedia, is defined as “the process of improving the quality and quantity of website traffic to a website or a web page from search engines”. The search engines rank websites based on the keywords that show up in the website’s title, url, etc. However, there are a couple drawbacks to SEO. Unless you search for something really specific, there will be many results that fit your criteria. For example, searching up “chocolate chip cookie recipes” will probably give you thousands of results, but most people don’t look past the first page, despite there being probably hundreds of results that satisfy your needs. Google also shows you popularized pages, people with a lot of followers on social media even though there are probably many small, less followed accounts who could have an answer just as good. SEO only shows the “best” results based on your keyword, and most people only click on something if it has a catchy title. It not only prevents you from finding answers to your questions, but also prevents content creators from spreading their content very far, because their content may not match exactly what you’ve searched for. Google prevents us from truly “surfing” the web, and instead speedboats you along to the next “best” website. Home-Made Websites Trump Social Media Almost everyone you know probably has a social media account, whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or Twitter. Social media is used to communicate with others about anything, anywhere , and even though you might not know it, there was a different form of social media on the 2000s internet: personal websites. These websites also made up the”personal web” and today are obscured by big social media platforms. Before Zuckerberg’s Epic Facebook Epidemic, obnoxiously colorful websites were how people interacted on the internet. While modern social media is definitely easier to figure out than HTML, CSS and Javascript, personal websites are customizable in ways that Twitter could only dream of. Instead of a just a blank template with a picture and a description, you could have bright colors and images, music playing in the background, mounds and mounds of whatever added to your personal home. To quote a user on Yesterwebs (a community dedicated to restoring the Old Web), “It's kind of like a home-made website, like a home-made meal instead of getting it store-bought and ready to consume. There's a sort of joy in getting to manually create a site of your own where you have the freedom to add anything you want onto it, much like a homemade meal has that special touch to it.” Social media platforms, as much as we love them, are still chock-full of algorithms designed to make you keep scrolling, keep you addicted, and in my own experience, don’t improve mental health. Home-made webs are great, if not better alternatives to the social media we use today. They give you a home away from ads and bots, allowing you to fully express yourself on the web. The fact that we’ve made social medias more popular than creative indie websites has made the internet solely focused on popular trends rather than weird arts and ideas. *This article has been broken into two pieces. Stay tuned for next weeks’!
HOW WE RUINED THE INTERNET-SEGMENT 2 Continued… Continuing where we left off last week, we’re talking about the many disadvantages of the internet brought on by capitalism, and a reflection on the previous question: “Have we ruined the internet?” Ads and Algorithms and Paywalls, Oh My! According to Forbes, “Digital marketing experts estimate that the average American is shown 4,000 to 10,000 ads per day.” Per DAY. We are shown thousands of ads every DAY, and the ones we see on the internet are designed to capture our attention. The problem with ads is that they’re always personal. Every purchase, search, or location is saved and used to advertise to you. Should search engines and social media have access to our data? Do we want our privacy, or are targeted ads simply designed to help you find what you might like? The answer is simple: targeted ads don’t value the user; they’re designed to give money to big companies. According to WiReD, Google makes about 83 percent of its total revenue via ads. Can you imagine what would happen if we stopped using targeted ads, or, heck, we stopped showing ads on the internet altogether? Big companies would make a lot less money due to less people buying their products. The internet would change from a money-making platform back into what it was before. Along with ads, would we ban algorithms as well? Algorithms are “a way of sorting posts in a users' feed based on relevancy instead of publish time. Social networks prioritize which content a user sees in their feed first by the likelihood that they'll actually want to see it.” They, too, take your data and show you posts based on what you’ve liked or commented on. While algorithms can be helpful in certain ways, there’s also no doubt that it still is designed to store your information to keep your attention and your data. Even the New York Times uses an algorithm to personalize the content you see. News on the internet is becoming more and more inaccessible to everyday netizens (internet citizens), with paywalls being put in place, so more articles are only available to people with a subscription. Algorithms, ads, and paywalls are all examples of the monetization of the internet, slowly whittling it into a corporate, attention seeking void. Did We Truly Ruin the Internet? So; we’ve talked about link directories, Search Engine Optimization (and how it’s not all good), the personal/indie web vs. social media, targeted ads, algorithms, and paywalls. The modern web is not all bad. It’s definitely more accessible and easy-to-use than it used to be. Social media shouldn’t not be used. The truth is that we’ve changed a lot of stuff on the internet, and I believe we can change it back to a personal web instead of a corporate one. We haven’t destroyed the internet, we’ve added to it, and not all of those additions are good. Educating other people, knowing about how search engines and ads work will help show that we should remove or cut back on certain features. The web is a whole lot bigger than we give it credit for, and by knowing more about personal webs we can explore the web again. If you want to learn more about the personal web I would suggest https://yesterweb.org/
The Rise of Magnus! By: Luc Garcia Dudek Magnus Comics has just moved into town above Roman Gourmet and the Maplewood movie theater. Magnus Comics sells comics, buys and trades them, they sell toys, clothing, and more. Being only here for a week, Magnus comics is already a huge hit to all kids. If you go there, you’re bound to see at least one backpack.
Once you walk up the stairs, you’ll be greeted by a Spider-Man mat and the Magnus Comics logo on the door. When you walk in you’ll be greeted by a life size statue of Batman, if you look to your left you’ll notice a huge wall of comics. When you look to the right you’ll see an endless line of Funko Pops.
You can sell/trade comics every day, but you can only sell cards over the weekend. Paperback comics range between 4-5 dollars. They're not just comics, cards and funko pops, but also toys! Toys from your favorite Tv shows, movies, video games and more.
In summary Magnus Comics is an amazing store with an endless amount of Funko Pops, a ton of comics, and much more things to keep you entertained.
Asphalt 9: Legends
Asphalt 9: Legends is an arcade car racing game that is free 2 play and can be played on multiple platforms (Xbox Series x or s, Xbox One, Playstation 4 or 5, Windows, ios and Steam). There are hundreds of cars you can choose from D class all the way to S class. But we WARNED. It is easy to play but hard to master. Events Playing events are one of the best ways to get and star up cars. There are 5 daily events that last 24 hours(1 day).D class cup on mondays, C class cup on tuesdays,B class cup on wednesdays,A class cup on thursdays and S class cup on fridays. Multiplayer Multiplayer is a way to show you skills with other players. It is one of the best ways to get blueprints for cars. There are 5 leagues in Multiplayer. Bronze League, Silver League, Gold league, Platinum League and Legend League the league for the best of the best players in the world.
Civilization VI By Jack Pachal Civilization 6 is an empire-building game that allows you to play as an empire and attempt to become the dominant civilization, it is complicated, has good AI, and can be multiplayer if you wish so. There is an aspect of everything, diplomacy, military, culture, science, wonders and more. You can play with a map of the world or a random one. While playing you have to take on many challenges such as diplomacy, housing, faith, loyalty, barbarians, natural disasters, government and of course, other hostile nations. If you don’t prevail through these challenges your Civilization will die or be outclassed. There are so many interesting mechanics and ideas that make this game intriguing. 9.8 out of 10 would highly recommend it.
Next gen consoles break world records in a month? By: Oliver Blum As most of you know the PS5/Xbox series X came out this November. Most of us knew there might be a little wait, but no one was expecting this! These next gen consoles broke some world records that we weren't expecting to happen for another 10 years! These next gen consoles might not sound like anything but they're really breaking world records in COUNTRIES by the day! According to publishing sources speaking to VGC, they said that in the Uk the PS5 was the biggest console drop ever breaking the world record for most console interest in the UK. On other levels the Xbox has officially broken their first world record becoming the Guinness World Record holder for Largest Projected Video Game Display following the launch of Destiny 2's update. The company projected a 19,090 sq. Now you might be wondering ‘Why does this even matter?” Well this evolution of gaming and technology can bring us to a next level experience, like 3d tvs if you're into that kind of thing. But as silly as it sounds it can give hospitals new technology to help with viruses or illnesses! So there really can be more beyond the eye. So signing off Oliver Blum and good luck trying to find a next gen console!
Looking back at battlefront By Sammy Daley On November 16th, 5 years ago battlefront (2015) was released. Star Wars battlefront was a Star Wars version of battlefield, which is a first person shooter. While today there might be a resurgence in players, the game's player base is not that huge. For example, my friend and I were playing and we would almost always end up on the same server. It is possible that this is just the ps4 Eastern time zone that is small. The gameplay is also pretty fun too. So if you haven’t played in a while, I suggest you do. It is also pretty fun online! -Sammy Daley
What is Total War? By Samuel Daley Total War is a series of games that started in the early 2000s. The series combines turn-based campaigns in which you build an empire and fight real time battles based on historic events. Each game takes place during some period in history spanning all the way from ancient China to the Roman Empire to the Napoleon era of warfare. They even created one for Warhammer! The next game is likely to be Total War: Troy.
D&D Dice
Dungeons & Dragons: a Game for Nerds By Claire Cross-11/23/19
Dungeons and Dragons, or, D&D is a fantasy tabletop roleplaying game created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. A quick disclaimer before we start: D&D IS NOT A VIDEO GAME! It was created as a type of wargame but has now developed into a game where you play a single character and not an army or battalion. Recently repopularized by the Netflix show Stranger Things, you play a character that goes on adventures with a party. Imagine yourself sitting around a table with friends rolling dice and having fun, that’s D&D! Dungeons & Dragons consists of a Dungeon Master (or DM) running your game and you, the player with a couple of other people. One of the most fun parts of D&D is working together with your party to slaughter a big monster or uncover a mystery. In D&D, your characters work towards a goal, whether it is killing the big dragon that inhabits a cave full of treasure or figuring out who the big leader of a gang is. Everyone’s experience with D&D is different because every Dungeon Master is different. Now what really is D&D, and how do you play? When you start your campaign, you create a character that you control. You can choose a race, which is basically your base. The options for your race are Dwarves, Elves, Halflings, Humans, Dragonborn, Gnomes, Half-Elves, Half-Orcs, and Tieflings. You also choose your class (your job or profession). The class options are: Barbarians, Bards, Clerics, Druids, Fighters, Monks, Paladins, Rangers, Rogues, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards. As you can see, there is a lot of customization options for your very own character. Then, the last major part of building a character: Stats. Stats are what make your character what they are, the stats consist of Strength, Dexterity (how quick you are), constitution (how tough you are), intelligence, wisdom and charisma (how attractive you are) Obviously, I can’t go over every detail for building characters but that is the main idea. Now, a little history of D&D, as I mentioned before, the first version of D&D was developed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. In 1974, Dungeons & Dragons was released in the form of three booklets. Ever since then, D&D has been up-grading and getting better and better. In 1982, a movie came out for TVs, it was called Mazes and Monsters, the backstory behind this movie was saying that Dungeons and Dragons was a very bad influence because it encourages people to kill monsters and other things. Then, jumping forward fifteen years, Dungeons and Dragons was bought by Wizards of the Coast and became what it is now. Now, to sum up what Dungeons & Dragons is, it is a game to have lots of fun with, and you will find yourself playing it ALL THE TIME. So, if you have a lot of time on your hands and are a geek, D&D is for you.
Dragon City and My Singing Monsters - Give us your money! By Max Richman
*sigh* Let’s talk about Dragon City and My Singing Monsters. I am kind of ashamed by how much my brother and I played these. It just goes to show how much money “free” games can leech from naive children. Let’s start with Dragon City.
Dragon city is a game where you train dragons and then, when they reach a high enough level, fight them. The way to level up your dragons is to feed them various foods such as dragon bells which take 30 seconds, hot chili peppers which take 5 minutes or one gem (more on that later), and Unicorn Horn which take 2 hours or 30 gems. The way to get new dragons is to breed previous dragons. This can take hours and is the where the problem arises.
Gems are the cause of this scheme. These rarely are used for buying actual dragons (though they can be used for that purpose), they’re mainly for speeding things up. The food that takes the longest needs 260 gems to speed up (it takes 24 hours). That would set you back $20! The dragon that takes the longest to breed costs 507 gems to speed up (88 hours) which will set you back $50!!!
My Singing Monsters is a game which is better in some regards but worse in others. One way it’s better is that there is no food mechanic, only a kind of XP system which mostly doesn’t need diamonds (the gems of this game) to buy. On the other hand, there are some monsters which physically can’t be breeded. Another positive is the “free” gems. For 1 to 5 gems, it’s pretty easy, you just watch an ad, take a survey, or at most download a game and get to a certain level. For ones in the hundreds, you have to sign up for a subscription service which you would end up paying for and other things like that. Still it’s a good feature.
As a YouTube channel named Game Theory said, “Just look at any mobile game. With microtransactions, they always force you to make a fake microtransaction in the tutorial. It's all there to get you started to overcome that aversion to paying... It can suddenly become very tempting to spend just a few extra dollars...especially when those rewards are only available for a limited amount of time. Enter exclusive loots, which puts a deadline on you, making the decision to pay. If you want it, you gotta get it before it's gone forever. All of it. It's all there to make buying those items a normal part of your gameplay experience” All of these points are present in Dragon City. They give you five gems and make you speed up food making in the tutorial and there are tons of exclusive and time sensitive deals(as seen in the picture, above). In Dragon City, before you start playing, you have to click through multiple ads for deals on gems and the new dragon that you have to buy before you can get to the actual game.
In conclusion, while I remember both of these games fondly, my view of them is now tainted because of how obvious of a cash grab they are. So play these games all you want, but make sure not to spend any of your hard earned cash, or the exploitative developers win.
Mark of The Plague
By Max Richman Mark of the Plague is the second book in what’s now my favorite series, the Blackthorn Key series. This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. It has everything: Action, Suspense, Mystery, and even Humor.
The Plot: Mark of the Plague is about the plague hitting London in 1660’s. It follows Christopher Rowe from the first book who is now without his master, who got killed by the Cult of The Archangel from the first book. It starts with Isaac (One of Blackthorn’s former Coworker) telling him that Blackthorn hid a treasure somewhere in the house. He tries to find it happens throughout the book. Thok Ere is also this plague doctor named Melchior who is believed to be a prophet that has been predicting who is going to get the plague. Is he really predicting them or is there something more sinister going on?
My Feelings: I believe Kevin Sands wrote it almost perfectly. In the end, it just has twist after twist after twist. I couldn’t even see them coming. It also manages to be funny but also can dial it back to have sad scenes. One thing I think he captures perfectly is his sadness at the loss of his master. They don’t try to force or exaggerate it, to get sympathy out of the reader. It’s a recurring plot point but it’s not done to death. It has a great and realistic villain that really works with the story. Lastly, the puzzles and codes in it are pretty genius and definitely are interesting to watch Christopher solve.
I loved this book and can’t wait to see what else the series has to offer.
Coming soon: Curse of the Assassin review Call of the Wraith review
See you then!
Hey Guys, It's Boxslam By Trey Gigante
Hey guys, it’s Boxslam here back at it again with another article. Guess what? Skull trooper is back in Fortnite Battle Royale. If you don’t know what Skull Trooper is, you might as well be living under a rock, but if you don’t know Fortnite, you’re in space.
Actually, Season 3 of the fortnite battle pass was space, sorry. This is a big deal because this Fortnite skin hasn’t been release in almost a year, and it has been seen as a way to tell a great player from the bad one. This has had a bit of backlash from fans of the game, claiming that this is just a way for the company to make even more money. But in my opinion, I think it is good for the people who didn’t know about the game for the initial release. The originals still get a unique color to show the difference so that’s pretty cool. Boxslam out.
Who Did It Better: Last season of The Middle vs. Last season of Mythbusters By Max Richman The Middle is a television show that ran from September 30, 2009 to May 22, 2018. It’s also a show my family has been watching every night for years. It’s about a family named the Hecks who live in Indiana and have all kinds of misadventures. Having just ended, it had to wrap the show up as well as possible and they did. For the 2 people and Justin Strugger who haven’t watched Mythbusters, it’s a show where two people named Adam Savage and James Hyneman test different myths. For example, whether or not a rock kicked up by a lawnmower can deliver the same force as a bullet or whether or not a a household vacuum cleaner can lift a car via suction. It also recently ended.
These were both great shows but which one was better...
The Middle Last Season: The Middle definitely had a strong final season. It had a lot of good episodes. One thing it did seem to focus too much on is romance. Specifically, the love life of Sue Heck. It went between her being interested in different boys. Then, continually torturing the audience by having her miss chance after chance to tell this person she’s really interested in, having that person end up going to Africa.
In the end, I feel like they put plot over comedy in a lot of the season. Another example about this is they dedicated a ton of time to Axel Heck getting and having various jobs and eventually having to decide whether or not to get a job in another state. It’s exciting but doesn’t leave room for much comedy. I find this to be a negative of the show, but others may see it as great. There is one episode that I feel balanced this perfectly. It’s Season 9 Episode 22: Split Decision. This episode is usually one I would hate because the a plot is entirely made of Axel deciding if he wants to take the job in another state and Sue crying over the person she’s interested in. Luckily, there is Plot B with Brick buying a bunch of lawn chairs and it is hilarious! To give you an idea, one of the lines from Brick in that episode is “When I bought the chair, it said I would be interested in this other chair...and I was!”
Mythbusters Last Season: Mythbusters also had a really strong last season. One thing that was prominent throughout the last season is trying many times to confirm a myth. They also tried some of the biggest myths of the entire series such as crushing a truck with a metal tank on it using air pressure (which Mr. Wright’s students should know about) and cooking shrimp by shooting it through fire.
The Crushing a truck with a metal tank on it using air pressure is one of the examples of the trying many times the show attempted to confirm a myth. They tried twice and ended up saying it’s busted but they didn’t want to let the myth go so they dropped a slab of concrete and then of course it work, but that’s not something that would happen in real life.
Winner: And the winner is…( drum roll please.) Mythbusters. It delivered an awesome last season with some of the most exciting myths on the show. The middle on the other had gets bogged down trying to wrap up its characters’ stories and ends up being less funny. Mythbusters, come up and take the first crown. ^ ^ ^ | | | | Mythbusters
Avengers Infinity War Review By Kate Kampner Since the first Iron Man movie came out in 2008, Marvel Studios has spent 10 years successfully taking comic books and putting them on screen. They took famous and popular characters from the comics such as Captain America and took lost characters such as Black Widow and revisited their world. They united the Avengers for the first time in Avengers Assemble and put two of the most popular superheroes head to head in Captain America: Civil War. Now, the movie almost every comic book fan has been waiting for; Avengers: Infinity War. The movie has almost 30 superhero members in the film. They reunite the Avengers, who meet Doctor Strange and the Guardians of the Galaxy, and finally altogether team up with the city of Wakanda where they fight against the major villain Thanos. Thanos is absolutely terrifying and is one of the best villains Marvel has made yet. He sends chills down the back of everyone's spin and keeps them on the edge of their seats. Every scene with him is unexpected and no one is prepared for the next. But at some points in the movie they show a side of him that people would think he never has. The movie focuses on his weaknesses a lot and shows that he is actually able to love. The beginning of the movie starts out dark. It continues from another movie only moments after. It leaves you on a question. “Well if this is how it starts...how is the rest of the movie going to be.” As it continues, it gets more interesting with the jokes from Tony Stark himself to the chilling scenes from all of Thanos’s children. It gives you the combination of the different movies and the reuniting scenes with some of the characters. The movie keeps on getting better and better after each scene. The Wakanda fight scene (No spoilers it was shown in the trailer) was iconic. It had almost every character (others on a different planet, also not a spoiler) from the movie fighting against Thanos and his team of aliens. Although it was bloodthirsty at some points it was very cool to see a combination of fighting. One by one protecting each other and fighting for the rest of the world. It had one awesome entrance scene that filled the theater with adrenaline that this fight was going to be intense. But sacrifices were made during this fight. One scene left the theater to go silent unsure of what was going to happen next. But, we all knew it. The end of the fight left everyone in shock and caused people to cry ( I know from experience). Avengers: Infinity War was a breathtaking movie. It definitely left you on multiple cliffhangers. Marvel did a successful job with not overwhelming everyone with how many characters there were and was able to make everyone leave the theater with questions that will hopefully be answered in Avengers 4.
Books Series vs. Standalones: Which are more submersive for the reader? By Annabelle Mecca
Have you ever been so incredibly immersed in a book’s world that you’ve began to prefer over reality? Have you ever been so invested with the colorful characters of this book that you liked them much more than your own real-life acquaintances? And, here’s a common truth among book worms, have you ever just wanted a book series to go on and on; for you to spend eternity with these fascinating characters, fantastical places and this otherworldly plot that the author cooked up? These are common questions that readers will usually answer a “Yes” to, whether it be because of that incredible world in that one fantasy novel that they never wanted to leave, or that amazing side character in that romance novel. But the last question, which asks if you’d like to stay with the places, characters and plots found in books, is not only answered with a “Yes” but a huge one - based on the opinions of many, many book-obsessed personalities on blogs, Youtube and in real-life. So, do readers think that book series are more fulfilling than stand alones? Perhaps! And it shows - some of the most successful books of our time are infact series. Take the the J.K. Rowling’s ‘Harry Potter’ series - a classic story about a wizard boy and his magical adventures - the books have sold a whopping 400 million copies worldwide, grossing an astonishing 8 billion in total. So clearly, readers love series. But what about stand-alone novels; books whose plots are contained in one book? The Great Gatsby has collected a gross of $25 million worldwide and has been adapted into a movie, stage production, a ballet and even an opera. In similar fashion, Charlotte’s Web, Where the Wild Things Roam, and Black Beauty have sold over a million copies and are considered classic children’s novels. So, clearly both series and stand-alone books are successful and loved - but series simply win in the long run. Though stand-alone novels hold their own, book series are much more submerging for the reader; because the world and characters can be developed and explored in more ways, and it gives the reader a more opportunities to connect with the novel, create within its fandom, and more interesting topics to discuss - basically, a stronger fandom is built.
Book series are superior towards stand-alone books because the world and character can be explored in many ways over the course of the series. One of the biggest examples of a complex world, wonderfully flawed characters, and a fantastical mythology underlying this fictional world is the worldwide phenomenon known as Harry Potter series. The seven-book series documents the various adventure of the wizard boy Harry Potter, and his journey to destroy his enemy, Voldemort. Though the plot is a relatively simple-seeming, good vs. evil scenario; fans of the book series know that the book series is so intricate that it couldn’t just be explored in one book. Many readers, authors and even magazines praise J.K. Rowling for her valuable themes, amazing worlds, and, most importantly, her rich characters that drive the story throughout the books. “...As always, I'm going to cite Harry Potter. Being with those characters through so much and for so long makes me feel like I know every facet of them. I'm even more invested in them than I would be in characters in a standalone. They've lived inside me for years, after all, and I've experienced the process with them.” sums up blogger Gilliane Berry in the article Series vs. Standalones. One of the best examples of character development in the book is Neville Longbottom. In the first few books, he was described a dorky, forgettable boy who only had affection for his pet frog. “ ‘Sorry,’ he [Neville] said, ‘but have you seen a toad at all?’ When they [Ron and Harry] shook their heads, he wailed.” the first Harry Potter book, The Sorcerer's Stone, states about Harry and Neville’s first encounter. However, as the books progressed, Neville became a fearless, couragable character that aided Harry with his fight against Voldemort. “ ‘We were all in the D.A. together,’ said Neville quietly. ‘It was all supposed to be about fighting You-Know-Who, wasn’t it? And this is the first chance we’ve had to do something real – or was that all just a game or something?’ ” the fifth book, The Order of the Phoenix, says about him. If the Harry Potter series was condensed to just one book, developments in character - such as Neville - and the world of Harry Potter would be minimal to non-existent. All these little tidbits that J.K. Rowling added, all these incredible themes and wonderful characters that fill the story with life wouldn’t be same if they were just in one book; Gilliane Berry even states that she cares more about these characters then in standalone novels. And one could tell that this was met with much critical acclaim - as well as a submersive experience for the readers. With a series, J.K. Rowling was able develop her characters, themes and world greatly. With book series, authors are able to develop and build onto different aspects of their story, which provide a deeper and more complex world for the reader. Stand alone books simply cannot accomplish this because of their shorter duration.
Another reason why series are more immersive than stand-alone novels is that they tend to create stronger, more intricate fandoms that grow, develop and even divide at some points with each book. Fandoms of series have more characters, themes, places, inside jokes, plot twists, objects and terminology that they can discuss, be inspired by, and of course, obsess over. A classic example of this is the obsessive and surprisingly intellectual fans, or “Ringers” of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings”. They have four books to work with, The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. “The LOTR fan was not and is not a passive one; they're scholars, studying and eventually teaching college courses about the books. Then the movies came out in the early 2000s and the fan base grew exponentially. Some went back and read the books, some didn’t, but they were equally obsessive. It was at this time that the fans split into factions: new fans, old fans who liked the movies, and the Purists or the Old Guard who disliked Peter Jackson's (the director of the Lord of the Rings movies) work. ..Since the (Lord of the Ring’s) first film's release, millions of fans have made the very expensive flight to New Zealand just to see where the films were shot.” states the pop-culture centered website Vulture, in the article about the 25 most devoted fan bases. These fans are incredibly devoted to the book series - but would it necessarily be the same of Lord of the Rings was a single book? Well, not really - fans would’ve only seen a bit of Middle Earth, the world in which LOTR takes place. They also wouldn’t’ve met new characters, new plot twists and new themes within the story. With each book comes an array of costumes, dozens of conventions, plenty of questions, a slew of fan art, and a seemingly-bottomless list of fanfiction. If there was only one book in the series, then those quantities would certainly sink. With a story that stretches longer lengths, more and more fandom surrounds such material. And with each fan theory, fan fiction, convention and merchandise piece, the readers become more and more submerged in the world of their book. The fandom grows and grows, all while becoming more intricate (as LOTR fans became divided between the purists, lovers of the books only, and fans of the movies) - and a more immersive experience for the fans.This is because series offer a more intricate world in which mythology, characters, objects, themes and concepts are explored in more depth, and the fandoms of theses series are often stronger, more creative and intellectual (I.E. - the tendency for LOTR fans to teach college courses about the books), and altogether a whole separate immersive experience for the reader.
An opposing view to this argument is that stand-alone books are still worth the read and interesting for readers because the characters are generally refreshing and not constrained to a greater story. The story is also usually short, which could be a getaway for introducing non-readers and American society in general to the love of reading.“...However a standalone novel from a series writer can still be just as good if not better. You nearly always notice a change in writing style that is refreshed, renewed and unconstrained. There is no formula. In essence all bets are off. Plus you meet new characters and the chances are if you liked a previous character you are going to like a new.” says website Bite the Book. Both writers and readers can benefit from standalone books because of their refreshing nature - readers read about characters that will only appear in this book and this book only, while writers don’t feel enslaved to connect their writings in this book to a larger story. As Bite the Book says, this refreshing feeling often shows in their writing. Another thing to think about is the aspect of a relatively short story - unless your standalone novel is over 800 pages long, the story will be relatively short. Though this may seem like a minor thing, its impacts on the world are anything but small. Why? It’s simple: not enough people seem to have time to read for a consecutive amount of time. In fact, a report by the Washington Post states that the average working time per week is 47 hours, in an article of the same name. Even though this may seem like a percentage of an average week’s 168 hours, this data still excludes the amount of time people take to sleep, eat, cook, spend time with family, do other activities, relax, shop and many other normal human activities. An obvious offspring of this data would be a recent study by the Pew Research Center that claimed that the average number of books read per year (for Americans) was only four books per year, as detailed in the Iris article ‘How many books does the average person read’ ? Is reading becoming an ignored, unimportant activity in a America? Is there any way we can revive reading for non-readers? Well, maybe so. The website Melville House states that a shorter story may be just the thing to get non-readers into books in the article ‘Books for non-readers’: “Shorter books are good: again, I’m not saying simple books, but if a book’s pagination runs well above 500 the non-reader may be inherently turned off by the shear heft of the book. This stipulation cuts both ways, because if the book works in the other respects the fact that it’s a bit longer could actually increase the satisfaction of a new reader. Think how good it feels to finish a huge book.” So, with this data, could standalones be the remedy for non-book fans? Maybe so! But, even if standalones have their advantages of fresh characters and shorter durations, series remain supreme in being more submersive and enjoyable for readers.
Series exhibit incredible detailing and development with their characters, places, themes and objects; more so than stand-alone books because of their longer duration (meaning more time to explore characters, world, mythology and other such aspects). Series also tend to spawn stronger and all-around more dedicated fans, such as fans of the Lord of the Rings books, or “Ringers”. Thus, Book Series are more immersive experiences for readers then standalone novels. So what are you waiting for? Battle through the physical and mental arenas alongside Katniss in the Hunger Games trilogy, fight gods, goddesses and many other characters in greek mythology with Percy Jackson in the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series, and explore the magical wizarding world as you proceed with your quest to destroy the Dark Lord, accompanied by Harry Potter in the Harry Potter series. In other words, pick up a series!
Spongebob: The Musical And why it’s not what you think By Max Richman
On December 27, I watched the Broadway production of Spongebob with my family. After it was over, we all had one thought, “That was amazing!”. The original cast was great, especially Ethan Slater as Spongebob and Gavin Lee as Squidward. The songs were really good and written by celebrities like They Might Be Giants, Plain White T’s. Plus Sara Bareilles, and the blocking were also great. This story revolves around the coming eruption of a volcano named Mount Humongous. It shows how everyone reacts to the looming threat of the volcano: Patricks freaks out before being calmed down by Spongebob. Mr. Krabs exploits the eruption for money. And of course, Plankton uses it for a scheme to hypnotize people into buying his food. There are two opposing opinions in this story: Plankton’s, by extension the town’s escaping through an escape pod. And Spongebob together with Sandy’s of using science to stop the volcano from erupting. Plankton sums up his way of thinking by a line in the song When The Going Gets Tough “Let’s give into our fear, Disaster's on its way, that means we can't spend no more time in here”. There are some characters that come from the original series but there are some characters that were created specifically for this musical. These include the Sardines, the Sea Anemones, and The Electric Skates. The Sardines are a group of people...er...sardines who worship Patrick for everything he does and eventually leads to Spongebob and Patrick falling out (spoilers). The Sea Anemones are a group, or they call it “Chorus Line” of singing sea anemones who cheers Squidward up when he gets sad. The Electric Skates are a band of fish that Pearl (Mr. Krab’s daughter) is obsessed with and are hired to make money to pay for the escape pod. There are many different songs in this that are completely original to the play. With songs like (Just A) Simple Sponge, No Control, I’m Not A Loser and When The Going Gets Tough even the biggest Spongebob hater will be happy. Many of the song are like nothing you would ever find in Spongebob and are sung perfectly. In conclusion, there are so many reasons for you to see this play. It has great characters, a great plot, and songs that will be great to everyone. Even if you can’t afford to see it on Broadway you have to at least listen to the music (the whole soundtrack can be accessed by a quick search on YouTube). When you watch or listen to it thank Tina Landau (the director of it) for finally making us care about the inhabitant of the pineapple under the sea.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi Review By Kate Kampner Since the first Star Wars movie came out in 1977, the Star Wars community has expanded over the years. When the main trilogy ended after Return of the Jedi came out in 1983, fans had wait until 1999 for The Phantom Menace to come out, the first of the Star Wars prequels which was about Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. After the 3rd of the prequels Revenge of the Sith came out, fans thought that was the last of the films. But, in 2014 LucasFilms made an announcement that there would be in fact more Star Wars movies. On December 18th 2015, The Force Awakens came out which was a sequel to the original Star Wars movies with new characters such as Rey and Kylo Ren and old ones such as Han Solo and Leia. A year later, on December 10th, 2016 Rogue One, a prequel about getting the plans of the Death Star came out, which took place before Episode IV. Recently, On December 14th, Star Wars: The Last Jedi came out, the sequel to The Force Awakens. It continued with the main character Rey's training in using the Force, Kylo Ren's battle with the dark and light side, plus much more. The movie introduces many characters including Vice Admiral Holdo, one of the leaders of The Resistance, Rose Tico, an engineer for the Resistance, and a friend of one of the Main Characters, Finn. Star Wars: The Last Jedi includes many unexpected team-ups and friendships, many exciting battle scenes, plot twists, and emotional Reunions. This movie will leave you speechless in the theater, already excited for the next one to come out in two years.
Very Superstitious
Superstitions are a belief in the supernatural. The most well-known superstitions are: if you step on a crack, you break your mother’s back, or Friday the 13th is bad luck, or that you need something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue before you get married. But those that don’t believe in superstitions find this all to just be a joke, but to those who believe in superstitions, it’s a pretty big deal.
Russia: Bird poop on your car means riches and whistling indoors mean financial problems. So try and avoid any whistling and try to park your car far away from anything that can block the flying bird poop. And stay away from giving yellow flowers as gifts, they are believed to represent death and separation.
Turkey: Don’t even try chewing gum at night in Turkey, you will actually be chewing on the “flesh of the dead”. And even more bad luck coming your way, the Turkish also believe in the evil eye. It’s when someone gives a concerning look, and bad luck immediately comes upon you.
India: You’re not allowed to cut your nails at night because people try to avoid sharp objects after dark. Have you ever seen the red dot on an Indian child’s forehead, well that is to keep away the negative vibes.
USA: Friday the 13th is filled with bad luck, and anything associated with the number 13 is almost just as bad. Opposite of Friday the 13th, pennies are supposed to bring you good luck, “If you see a penny, pick it up, and it will give you good luck all day.” The US has many good luck mechanisms, but “knocking on wood” is one of the most common.
Spain: Apparently walking backwards lets the devil know where you are and what you’re doing. But what you should do, is shove 12 grapes in your mouth on New Year’s eve right at midnight.
So make sure to steer clear of whistling indoors, chewing gum, cutting your nails, walking backwards, and Friday the 13th, with the next one on Friday April 13th..
Strange World Records By Ciel Ben-Adi
Tallest mohawk
A Japanese fashion designer, Kazuhiro Watanabe holds the record for the tallest mohawk at 3 feet and 8.6 inches tall.
Most tattoos on a senior woman
A woman named Septuagenarian Isobel Varley, born in 1937, posed for a tattoo fair in Gijon, Spain. She is the most tattooed senior woman in the Guinness World Records book every recorded.
Most scoops of ice cream balanced on a cone
A man in Italy named Dimitri Panciera managed to balance 109 scoops of ice cream balanced on a cone in only 2 minutes and 50 seconds.
Most pierced man
Rolf Bucholz posed for picture showing only some of his 453 piercings on October 24, 2011.
Biggest sumo suit gathering
In June 2010 runners got dressed up in inflatable Sumo wrestler costumes and earned themselves a world record for the largest Sumo Suit gathering.
Longest finger nails
Christine “The Dutchess” Walton set the world record for the longest finger nails. On her left hand they measure 10 feet and 2 inches. And on her right hand they measure 9 feet and 7 inches.
These are just some of the insane things people do. So if your goal is set a world record, good luck finding a new kind of crazy!
New Outstanding Wonders
This article covers the New, Outstanding Wonders of each Month!
As October flows by keep your eye out for these movies.
Battle of the Sexes - PG13 - September 23 Battle of the Sexes came out in theaters last month, but is still an amazing movie produced by Cloud Eight Films. The movie encompasses the life of Billy Jean King as she fights against women stereotypes to defeat Bobby Riggs in the Ultimate tennis match.
Blade Runner - R - October 6 Rick Deckard must the complete the task to destroy the four replicants of all the colonies who have returned to planet earth. This movie is made by Warner Bros.
Happy Death Day - PG13 - October 13 Day after day Tree Gelbman is being murdered by a mysterious killer. But a strange phenomenon forces her to keep on repeating the same event every day, in this fantastic movie by Blumhouse Production.
This October, Netflix will be releasing a variety of shows such a Stranger Things - Season 2, a variety of different comedians, scary Halloween movies, and more Riverdale.
Friday the 13th will happen in October for the first time since 2006. On this day Happy Death Day will be released on this day, as the rest of America rejoices in this spooky occurrence.
On October 31, children of America strap on disguises and show up at stranger's doorsteps asking for sweets to celebrate the ridiculously spooky holiday of Halloween. This year Halloween is on a Tuesday. I will be dressing up as Sans from Undertale. This is obviously not a typical costume. So, here are the 5 most popular Halloween costumes of 2017.
5:Rabbit I don’t understand why this is so popular but apparently people like dressing up as it. This could probably only work if a child or a toddler wears it. 4:Unicorn This one is a good girl's costume that doesn't need much explaining as to why it’s popular. So just keep it in mind. 3:Clown There are a bunch of reasons why this is popular:the It reboot recently came out, it’s a cool costume, and it can give you the real halloween-y feel that defines this holiday. 2:Harley Quin This one is sort of confusing because the last big thing she was in was last year. Still, it’s a cool character and you’ll have a good time being her. 1:Wonder Women This one makes sense because since the amazing movie came out on May 5th of this year and hype is still very high. If you’re a girl who doesn't have a Halloween costume I strongly suggest this
Boo!
By Ciel Ben-Adi
Halloween is coming up! And you know what that means, candy, ghosts, witches, zombies and more candy of course. But oh no! You don’t know what to be, well here are some great costume ideas:
1. Pennywise, the clown from It: It’s pretty much the perfect scary costume. Halloween is all about being scary and being able to laugh about it. And what’s better than the clown that keeps popping up in your nightmares. There has actually been a rise in sales of shirts that have big, ruffled shoulders and big pom-pom clown shoes.
2. Belle, Beauty and the Beast Since the new Beauty and the Beast came out in spring, dresses like Belle’s have become kind of trendy. So trendy in fact, that they became prom dresses too. I mean it’s a pretty yellow dress, why not wear it to prom? But what about the Beast? That would be one freaky costume.
3. Wonder Woman There’s really not much to explain here, superheroes are the go-to costume. I mean who doesn’t want to be able to fly or have super strength or be able to read minds? And with every new superhero movie that comes out, a new Halloween costume comes with it. And what’s Halloween without superheroes walking around.
4. Unicorns and Mermaids They are both magical creatures that seem to spark people’s interest so why not be a sparkly unicorn and wear those uniquely stylish unicorn headbands. Or dress up in shiny, colorful clothes.
5. Dancing Snapchat Hotdog If scary isn’t your thing, this dancing hotdog is for you. It doesn’t get better than this. Hotdogs than can dance, that’s genius. Imagine going trick-or-treating in a hotdog outfit, you can even add a little dancing to make Halloween even more exciting. You would be a living, breathing, walking, candy-eating meme. Can it get any better?
So, have fun choosing your costume and have a spooky, candy filled HALLOWEEN!
Game Reviews: AdCap! By Sophia Franklin
Ever wanted to start your own business, but didn’t have the time? Have you ever dreamed of making a lot of money, right now? Owning extraterrestrial quadrillion-dollar corporations? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, then AdVenture Capitalist is the game for you!*
Sure, a game about capitalism and finance may sound boring, but in my opinion, AdVenture Capitalist (or AdCap for short) takes making money to a whole new level!
You begin the game with one business: lemonade stands. You earn money by tapping the bar next to the icon. When you earn enough, you can spend money to unlock more businesses, or investments, such as newspaper stands, shrimp boats, and even oil companies. If your fingers get tired over time, you can hire Managers to tap automatically when you get enough money. You can also spend money to unlock upgrades that boost business production. You can participate in special events to earn bonuses. Sound fun to you?
Now, onto some other facts about the game. AdCap is chock-full of colorful cartoony graphics. The music is pretty good, but can get annoying after a while. A bonus of the game is that you don’t have to tap all the time once you buy Managers. The game is also riddled with ads, but you can watch some to earn money or multipliers. In my opinion, one of the cons of the game is the fact that once you start making a whole lot of money, you have to wait hours, sometimes days to actually make more progress. One way to solve that problem is by buying boosters, like Mega Tickets or Time Warps that provide giant increases when it comes to productivity and money.
In conclusion, AdCap has pros and cons, but, overall, it’s a game worth checking out. Another bonus: it’s good for learning number vocabulary (did you know one googol, or one followed by a hundred zeroes, is also called ten duotrigintillion, ten thousand sexdecilllion, or ten sexdecilliard?). I wish you the best of luck in your future money-making endeavors. I give this game a 9 out of 10, or 4.5 stars. If you want to try another puzzlingly addicting game, I suggest Cookie Clicker. I’m running out of stuff to say, so...uh...goodbye!
*Disclaimer: all the money made in AdVenture Capitalist is FAKE. You have been warned.
Top 5 Reasons You Should See Hamilton if You Have the Opportunity By Max Richman and Justin Strugger
Oh, Hamilton. Oh, Hamilton. It may seem like a craze that died down, but it really deserves to continue being commemorated. It is arguably the greatest show ever on Broadway, with tickets up to $10,000. To get reasonably priced tickets I, Max Richman, had to buy tickets for March 2017 in Chicago in November 2016 with partially obstructed seat that separated my brother and I and my mom and dad into two rows. And I, Justin Strugger, had to buy tickets for November 2016 all the way back to the end of 2015. But in the end, we both got to experience the fantastic performance we call Hamilton. 1) The Songs have hidden gems, and references. Lin-Manuel Miranda is a very intelligent, clever man. Throughout the songs he leaves little gems. These gems are sneaky, but once you find them out you’ll be so impressed about how it connects to the story. The gems usually talk about an earlier part of the story or another character. There are also reference to things outside the world of Hamilton, like connections to events in modern society. We don’t want to spoil any of them for you, but remember to keep your eyes open. Or should I say you ears?
2) The songs are incredible and are very clever to keep you jammin’ forever. Although they are getting slightly less popular, you could definitely see in 2015 and 2016 the universal love for Hamilton. If you were to walk down the hall in 2015, or 2016 singing a Hamilton song, I ensure you that someone would join in. There is a large variety of song types, from country to fast-paced rap. There is also hip-hop, and slow love songs. There are little quotes or clips that were repeated in different songs. Each time you listen to the song, it makes you think and forces you into a line of emotions.
3) It teaches kids about our country's fascinating past For example, give us a show of hands, who knew, before Hamilton came out, that the Battle of Yorktown was the last battle before we won the Revolutionary War, or that General Charles Lee felt like George Washington couldn’t win the revolution or even that Lee had died in a duel. Although we can’t see your hands because you’re seeing this after we write it, I don’t think we would see many hands. Also, it teaches children about the Sons of Liberty in Hercules Mulligan’s line in The Battle of Yorktown “I’m running with the Sons of Liberty and I am loving it”. If you haven’t heard the song or have heard the song but don’t know what they are, they were a group of rebels who did messy or sometimes harmful acts to the British in support of America becoming a separate country. This is not only educational but a good reference which goes back to our first point.
4) It spotlights a man who was almost forgotten in history. The name Alexander Hamilton was not well known before the play. Originally, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew planned to replace Hamilton on the $10 bill, but after strong arguing from fans, Andrew Jackson was replaced instead. Hamilton had achieved so much, but people knew so little. That is why Lin-Manuel Miranda wanted to make this play. Hamilton was Secretary of State, a loyal assistant, a general, and much more, but still, somehow, he was almost lost in the cloud of history.
5)The acting is incredible! At points it seems like you’re actually watching Alexander Hamilton throughout his life with all the casts. It’s the best of broadway, and many of the actors also had roles in other shows. First, Jonathan Groff (King George) also played in Frozen and Glee. Leslie Odom Jr. (Aaron Burr) plays in Smash. Daveed Diggs (Marquis de Lafayette) plays on blackish and Sesame St. And Lin-Manuel Miranda (Alexander Hamilton), is known for creating a really awesome broadway show (Hint: It’s Hamilton). The Choreography is exceptional., and every line has such personality such as the man who played King George the third in Chicago put just the right emphasis on every word so that it seems like the way King George himself would say it. In conclusion, go out! Get tickets! And see Hamilton! It’s the only way for you to ♫ Rise Up ♫!
The Difference Between a Geekand a Nerd By Justin Strugger
A Nerd! A Geek! Practically the same thing, Right? NO!! NO WAY!!! Let me run you through the difference between ageek and anerd.
What’s ageek?
A geek is a person who deeply connects and obsessed over a specific fandom, that may be a book, movie, tv show, anime, video game, comic book, podcast, literature, art etc. Geeks are not as interested in facts or statistics. Instead, they like to chat around the topic of favorite characters, shipping couples, the dates that things will come out, and certain details about stories. They stalk their favorite celebrities on Instagram and talk about actors and actresses all the time. They will cry as they mourn over their favorite characters, and pretend what they would do if they were in the story. Video Gamers make friends online and talk nonstop about what they play. There is not one type of geek, but rather a list of many different categories within geek, with a range from a video game maniac to a person whose head is always stuck in a fat book. This is a geek.
What’s anerd?
A nerd is often associated with the school subject. They might be fascinated with Astronomy, Physics, Mental Phenomenons, Presidents, The Ancient Romans, Calculus, The Theory of Matter, Periodic Table, Biology, Technology, Coding, and the list that goes on forever. Instead of stories or games, nerds find themselves enjoying research and learning geography or something educational for fun. They love teachers who teach a lot and they are known for being more intelligent and getting higher grades. They are determined and find curiosity everywhere. They love asking questions and enjoy traveling to different historic places and learning about new cultures. Like a geek, a nerd is a category with many different types of nerd inside. This is a nerd.
But it’s not just that! It’s important to remember a few things. First of all, being one of these or being called one of these shouldn’t be an insult. It should be something that represent who you are, that you should embrace. I consider myself a nerd and I am not embarrassed to say it. Don’t be offended if people call you a nerd or a geek. Instead put your head up and walk with more courage.
Also, people should not be categorized into one specific type of person. You are not just a geek, or just a nerd, or just a something else. Instead you can be combination of different types of people. In fact, most people are not singularly one type of person. People are usually mixes of different forms of people which makes us the unique, interesting, awesome people we are. So don’t feel like you need to fall into one of these options. Plus there’s more than just a geek and a nerd. There is a practically infinite stream of other possibilities of people you can be.
So now you know. Don’t go saying a geek and nerd are just the same thing. ‘Cause they are very different things, in their very own ways!
The Diversity of Geometry Dash
These days everyone’s talking about diversity. But I'm sure, when you hear diversity you don't think of Geometry Dash. Believe it or not, Geometry Dash has the most diverse mix of creators and players in any game I know (besides Pokémon Go). Don't believe me? I'll show you.
The Spanish GuitarHeroStyles First up we have the famous Spanish player GuitarHeroStlyles. Born in Cadiz, Spain, he has completed Bloodbath, Super and Ultra Sonic, A Bizarre Phantasym, and more.
If you have no idea what I just said, I basically said he completed some of the hardest levels in Geometry Dash. He has not published any levels yet but his playing skills are off the chart. Plus he speaks Spanish in every video meaning he's not afraid to show his Spanish origins.
SoulsTRK The slightly lesser known of the two main Spanish Geometry Dash players, Souls TRK is just as amazing. Completing the Ultimate Phase,8o, and Madhouse (more of the hardest levels in Geometry Dash) are just some of his amazing achievements. He has created one rated level which is named Acropolix, a 2.0 remake of Zobros’ Acropolis, which is now rated demon and is very popular. The Korean Cyclic Cyclic is one of the most well known players in Geometry Dash, for good and bad reasons. He has created and verified (beat to help someone upload a level they can’t beat) some of the best levels in Geometry Dash including one called Sonic Wave which now has 5 remakes! All though he was also known as one of the biggest hackers in Geometry Dash when he confessed on March 4, 2016 to hacking the game to beat some levels (it’s complicated). Still, he was a beloved player and creator until he unofficially quit Geometry Dash around March 2016.
Dorami One of my favorite Geometry Dash youtubers, he is a huge player and creator. He has created some of the most well know levels in Geometry Dash such as Theory of Firepower, New Death Corridor, and Sine Waves. He has a YouTube channel and uploads regularly. He is known for making confusing and fun levels and has been creating since the 1.8 update. He is a great creator, player, and youtuber.
The Austrian Xaro A lesser known Geometry Dash player, Xaro is made one series that put him on the map. It’s called the Toxic Lab series. With great decoration, gameplay, and a collab with Funnygame, he is one of the most famous Geometry Dash players. We're still waiting for Toxin Lab IV but also he has created a few lesser known a levels such as Candlelight and Pentakill. Overall, he is a pretty great lesser known creator.
Merg I'll say it outright, Merg is my favorite Geometry Dash youtuber. He has not completed any notably hard levels besides Supersonic and Windy Landscape but what he brings to the table is his reactions. He plays levels blind without any experience with the level and it's like you're learning the level with him. He never shows his face in videos but somehow his voice and reactions show it all. He is a good Geometry Dash player and a great youtuber.
The Chilean
AbstractDark This is one of the best creators on this list. When update 2.1 was taking forever he made Underground, an almost exactly accurate 2.1 remake. He starred in Demon Altergame X , an incredible level, with his part being one of the best. He also starred in the more recent collab Project Alpha with a short but great looking part. He is overall a very good creator.
Nacho21 This creator is famous for only one level: Duelo Maestro. A extra-extra long 2 player extreme demon. Everyone in the community knows about and likes this level. He's also made some other extra long and normal levels. He has a YouTube channel but he doesn't use it much. Still, he is such a great creator and a great person to end this on.
Behind: The Unluckiest Day of the Year By Keira January
Oh no! It’s that time of the year again- Friday the 13th. As it’s coming up this Friday, we’re all prepared for the worst. But how did Friday the 13th become such a terrible thing? Today I’m going to answer that question.
The Origins
The number 13 has obviously been an unlucky number for centuries. Buildings in the Western world will purposely skip the 13th floor. Sometimes, houses will also not have a number 13. During the last supper in the Bible, Judas, who ultimately betrayed Jesus, was 13th to sit at the table. 13 has also been unlucky in other cultures. Hindus believe it is bad luck for 13 people to gather together for any purpose at the same time. In a Norse myth, 12 gods were having dinner when Loki, the god of mischief, came and brought the number of gods there to 13. He then convinced one god to murder another, sending the whole country into mourning. Oh Loki. 13 was considered “unlucky” starting around the 17th-18th century.
It’s not commonly known why Friday is such a bad day, but it might have to do with the fact that in biblical times, Jesus was crucified on a Friday. To add to the Bible references, tradition makes Friday the day that Eve gave Adam the apple and they were kicked out of the garden of Eden. It is also tradition to report that these two died on a Friday. However, Friday was not considered “unlucky” until md 17th century, as suggested by documented evidence.
So when did these two things combine to create mankind’s worst nightmare? It happened around mid to late 19th century. One very popular myth is the Knights of Templar. This was a Catholic group formed to protect the pilgrims, but soon became an endorsement of the Catholic Church and became a very big thing. On Friday, October 13, 1307, the Knights of Templar were captured and tortured by King Philip IV and Muslim soldiers. Three years later, they would be executed. The group soon dissolved in 1312. Despite thinking this is a huge part of Friday the 13th origins, this seems to be more of a conspiracy theory rather than the Friday origins.
One of the earliest references of this unpopular day comes from a really cool club created by William Fowler. Do you want to join? If you do, that’s fine and dandy- all you have to do is be ready (and willing) to prove that the 13 superstitions are meaningless. To really test this, the club would meet in groups of 13 to dine. If you thought that was bad enough, their first meeting ever was on- you guessed it- Friday, January 13, in 1881. However, it doesn’t stop there. The club members had to walk under a ladder before going in, and they ate at a table in room 13- with spilled salt everywhere. Do you still want to join the club now?
Bargains on Friday the 13th
Now that I’ve cleared up the origins of this myth, it’s time to see how you can turn your Friday the 13th luck around.
Do you want to get married? Okay, that should have been a “no” from all of you, but Friday the 13th is actually the best time to do it. Since so many people are nervous to get married on this so called “unlucky” day, wedding companies will give you a discount, so you will actually save money by getting married on that day.
If you just want to travel, flying on Friday the 13th isn’t that bad either. People are less likely to take their chances in the air, so the prices to fly drop on that day. And honestly, risking you luck in the air might just be worth it to save a bit of money- for the plane home, perhaps?
Bad Things that have Happened
For you Friday the 13th believers, I do have something to confirm your worst fears. Here are AWFUL THINGS that have happened on Friday the 13th.
In 2009, the new SAW ride (that cost £13.5 million) at Thorpe Park opened, but was shut down due to a computer programming fault.
Bus conductor Bob Renphrey vowed to stay in bed on this day. His bus, The Welshman, has crashed four cars, fallen into a river, and more on Friday the 13ths.
This one is ironic. In 1976, a man by the name of Daz Baxter was so afraid that he decided to stay in bed all day on Friday the 13th. Unfortunately, his plan backfired when the floor of his apartment collapsed and he was killed.
Conclusion
Friday the 13th is not really so much of a “bad luck day” once you see the bigger picture: two things people were superstitious about that came together based on fate. I plan on having an article about why 13 (along with other things) is not really that unlucky anyway, so stay tuned. Surprisingly, this day can give you bargains on weddings, flights, and more. And if you still think that Friday the 13th means the apocalypse, there’s no use staying in bed all day because the luck will get you there too. What am I saying? Go out and live your life on this day! If the bad luck is getting to everyone, what is there to lose?
New Outstanding Wonders
This article will come monthly and can catch you up on stuff that you likely didn’t know even existed.
November News On November 14th, a rare type of Supermoon will appear, where the moon is full and closest to us during its orbit. A supermoon like this was last saw in 1948, and won’t appear again until 2034. A supermoon comes when the earth, moon, and sun are all aligned with the moon on the opposite side of the sun. The effect makes the moon look 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter. For all those astronomy lovers, keep your eyes open.
This November 18th, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will be coming out in theaters. For all the Harry Potter fans, we all know that the Wizarding World is the best part of the books. We all picture ourselves waving a wand around at our school, going to magical school, and defeating our arch enemies once and forever. In this movie, Eddie Redmayne who plays Newt Scamander is the main character. It is based on Newt who travels to New York and misplaces his suitcase of dangerous magical creatures. The adventure is on! He must work with fellow wizards and witches, a muggle named Jacob, and numerous friends he meets on his way to find the beasts and get them back in the suitcase. You can view the trailer here ↓ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGNnv_g9h4k
Also on November 18th, the game Sun and Moon comes out. It seems amazing with all the commercials that are emerging, and there are so many new Pokemon, including Rowlet, Litten, Poplio, and Lynaroc. The creators even told us the final evolution of the starters, for goodness sake! The main appeal of this game is the Alola region Pokemon.
This is just a taste of the hundreds of Pokémon that ‘got used to the Alola Region’s tropical environment’. Many people have made videos predicting what the new Pokémon game will bring. But no matter what, Pokémon will end up being in the game. I'm sure this will turn out amazing!
Frozen Fails By Keira January
You know Frozen. Let it Go, we don’t need boys to save us (the one thing that I enjoy about this movie), getting married on the first day you meet someone. You are all probably tired of it by now, and I don’t blame you (considering it’s been 3 years). Actually, I’m here today to tell you everything that I hate about the Frozen characters. Nobody’s perfect, but I think these guys really need help. Like really.
Elsa: Okay, who wouldn’t want ice powers that brings you castles and a free new dress? Apparently Elsa. I don’t know how isolated she’s been from human interaction, but obviously everybody would kill for her powers, and she is the one person-the person who doesn’t want them, might I tell you- who gets them. Seriously? That is not okay. Destiny got us real good this time, because the one person who gets them won’t even USE them to help us. I mean, just freeze a lake for us or SOMETHING.
Second of all, Elsa is probably the worst sister I have ever known. She and Anna somehow always get into some sort of conflict, but they still love each other at the end. I’m sorry, but this is not how sibling relationships work. You don’t just kill your sister and then be forgiven for it just because you saved her. And also avoid her for 15 years but that doesn’t matter now, cause we’re besties! If this were real life, Anna would have gone to live somewhere else by now.
Actually, what really infuriates me about this movie is that Elsa does the one thing she has been trying to prevent for years. Like stuck her bedroom, no self esteem kind of years. When she was playing with Anna once, she struck her in the head, but she was told she was lucky it wasn’t Anna’s heart, otherwise she would die. When Anna talks to Elsa in her castle, Elsa finds how she has cursed the kingdom (which she is the queen of, I might add) and starts to freak out. With the very original “I can’t”, she stops a flurry and strikes it somewhere, and it just happens to hit Anna’s heart. I’m pretty sure I heard at least 12 people in the theatre scream in frustration. Do you know what it took for Elsa? She had to give up her sister playtime, her sister’s memories were erased, she freaked out trying to stop her powers, ruined her bedroom, missed her parents’ funeral, and wasted her childhood. This was all to prevent harming Anna, mainly in her heart. But what does she do when she has left and has some kind of control over what she is doing? She gets mad and strikes Anna in the heart. Way to go, Elsa. All those years spent in your bedroom for nothing.
Also, the troll guy says that fear is Elsa’s enemy. Do you know how many times she freaks out in this movie? I couldn’t count. Her parents don’t listen to the troll either, because we don’t see them reminding her to not be afraid or to be thankful for her powers. I’ll get into that later. Also, love is the cure. Fear is prevented by love. I’m pretty sure if Anna knew about Elsa’s powers, she could help Elsa and Elsa could show her how to properly date a guy. Also, no harm was done to Anna when she really knew about Elsa’s powers and when Elsa started to hang out with her again. You want to prevent someone from dying and having a “conflictual relationship” on the family tree? Get the sisters together. While you’re at it, don’t keep her in the bedroom all day, because if someone is locked up, they become afraid that they are too dangerous to be shown to the outside world.
Lastly, Elsa will probably be remembered like this-you respect her, but she was a terrible leader. Why? She ALMOST KILLED HER PEOPLE. I think the people of Arendelle would have liked a queen with ice powers because you can never worry about when you can ice skate. At the end of the movie, they are happy, excited, and accepting. But the terrible king and queen chose to hide it, and Elsa became afraid. I mean, every queen is nervous on coronation day, but Elsa isn’t even excited. She’s scared of exposing her powers. And when she does, she creates such dangerous, spiky things that the people of Arendelle have a right to be afraid. If Elsa wanted to leave, she should also do it more subtly. She shouldn’t freeze the lake and curse the kingdom with eternal winter. As you can see in the movie, the citizens are freezing and don’t even have coats, and food is probably scarce too. Forget traveling- the ocean is frozen solid. Sending winter to people who don’t even have coats? That is just cruel. Also, murdering the princess is also not okay. Elsa starves and freezes the people of Arendelle, and makes sure they can’t escape. If she came any later, either the people would be dead or its temporary leaders would. Also, just fleeing the country in your dress, running across the lake, looking stupid? Having left no leader in charge, making your own settlement, and never giving a thought to how the country might be going? That’s immature, and that shows that you have no good characteristics and should not be running the country. If this was the real world, I think Elsa would be dethroned faster than she can conjure up a new snowman.
Anna: Tons of girls like her, but in the first half hour of the movie, she downgrades young girls everywhere. She violates the right that women everywhere would love: choosing who you want to marry and being smart about it. I’m all for “true love” and stuff, but you gotta give the dating game a try before you get married, and considering Anna’s been stuck in the castle all her life, her idea of love is what all us 5 year olds think when we play our barbies. Really though, who could blame her? No exposure to the outsider world can give you crazy ideas- like the fact that Hans is her forever love. She meets him, spends a night with him, and then marries him. And I have to say, Anna’s so young and vulnerable that she’s getting taken advantage of. Well actually, it’s Disney, so I can dismiss that, but it still doesn’t change the fact that this still happens everywhere and being royal, Anna should have known about this. Not only is Anna being oblivious, but she’s being stupid. Anna has way too high expectations, which I completely understand because it’s her first party ever, but there’s a fine line between excitement and stupidity. Marrying someone you just meant is bad because it’s just common knowledge that you don’t do that. She really should have gotten to know Hans and seen his true intentions instead of crazily going for it, which did cost her in the end.
Elsa may have almost ended the existence of Arendelle, but at least she had a smart head and knew where she was going. She wasn’t going to be swayed that easily. Honestly, I don’t think Arendelle would have been any better under the rule of Anna. Think about it. Marrying Hans is one thing, but what if she had be too trusting of another country and signed to a contract that would hurt the country? She could have been easily been taken advantage of by another country with greedy motives just for something as simple as another princess to hang out with. That’s crazy and also mildly selfish. And what if she had actually married Hans? Well, she would have died, but Hans would have been so cruel that he could have probably been as bad as leaders like Stalin. Seriously. He even states in the movie that he only wants Anna for the throne, and almost succeeds in killing both sisters. So yeah, I take the princess with unexplained mutant ice powers any day of the week.
King Agnarr and Queen Iduna: In case you don’t recognize the names, they’re Elsa and Anna’s parents. Waiiit a second, that’s their names?! That’s hilarious! Names aside though, I have to call them out on their terrible parenting skills.
Again, the rock troll says to Elsa, “Fear will be your enemy.” So what do the parents do with this valuable information? Oh yeah, hide Elsa away and teach her to be scared of herself. If the parents wanted to be good parents, they should have taught Elsa to accept her powers, but instead they taught her to be ashamed and afraid of them. This lead Elsa into a spiral of doubt about herself, and ultimately made her lose her self confidence. They raised Elsa to hate herself. Think about when you hear people who have been abused by their parents. Doesn’t that make you feel angry at them? Well, the parents of Frozen are doing the exact same thing, but putting on that caring, Disney innocence. You should be angry at them, because behind all this “niceness” they are saying, “You’re powers are dangerous and you should be ashamed of them. You should hide away because you are not worthy and dangerous.” Sound like the movie?
In addition to this, they take Anna responsible also, hiding her away from the world without even giving her a reason. They don’t seem to give her any talks about the outside world, considering how quickly she fell for Hans. If anything could have helped Elsa, it would have been a sister, ditto for Anna. But well… I guess we have to have some sort of stupid conflict, right?
Lastly, the villiagers must be either very stupid or accepting because that’s a heck of an excuse to accept for the fact that nothing is happening in Arendelle. And by excuse, I mean none. So for 15 years, the castle just closed their gates and didn’t do anything? So nothing got done. Wow, we praise these rulers. I guess if the villiagers show up to the castle with a giant guillotine I’d have nothign better than to join in because the king and queen are just terrible at authority, but unfortunutely for Arendelle, they’re the rulers. So the population was reduced by a giant famine? Oh well, guess we didn’t see that after hiding in the castle for fifteen years until we go on vacation and die…. guess we’ll pin that mess on our daughters! Now honor us, because we’re great rulers!
Hans: Can I just say that as evil as he is, he’s pretty darn smart for this movie? Taking over a kingdom that’s accomplished a grand total of nothing over the past decade, how come nobody else thought of that? C’mon, it’s not even that big, and it’s surrounded by water! Their navy probably stinks at this point from the lack of royal funding! If I was in charge of Disney, I’m sure half of their territories would be mine because of the lack of military tactics.
Anyway, Hans is pretty clever about taking advantage of this lovesick princess, and he’s got her reeled in when he asks her to marry him. As he says when describing his plan, “As thirteenth in line in my own kingdom, I didn't stand a chance. I knew I would have to marry into the throne somewhere. As heir, Elsa was preferable, of course. But no one was getting anywhere with her. You were so desperate for love, you were willing to marry me just like that. I figured after we married, I would have to stage a little accident for Elsa. But then, she doomed herself, and you were dumb enough to go after her.” I admit that it was a pretty good move, taking advantage of Anna’s crazy love fantasy. And also more clever to take over the whole kingdom while you’re at it. He would have done it if not for one simple mistake which cost him everything.
You all know Olaf’s quote of, “Some friends are worth melting for.” When does he say this? After Hans leaves Anna alone and Olaf sneaks in. The mistake- him assuming that Anna would just die and her friends wouldn’t have come and saved her. If he was going to kill them both anyway, he should have just done it then to block out any miracle factors. Then, when he told the servants that Anna was dead, they could have believed him.
However, I still really like the strategy of his plan, and Anna only had herself to blame. But what makes Hans one of my favorite Disney villains is that he’s smart, tactile, knows what he’s doing, and almost succeeded if not for the “hero wins in the end” factor. With those qualities in mind compared to the current princesses, Arendelle’s citizens might not be too angry about him taking over the throne.
In conclusion, these characters really don’t have much going for them. When they get into stupid situations, it’s their fault entirely. Not that good for a movie about female empowerment and fun, snow-filled plots. However, Disney always has flaws, and it’s time someone exposed them, or at least exposed their characters. But characters make up the story, don’t they?
The pros and cons of Pokemon Go By Max Richman
“There is a difference between playing a game and letting it consume your whole life”-Gabe Erwin Pokemon Go; some people love it, some people hate it. But we all agree that it is a very popular game. Me, personally, I don’t hate this game but I’m not sure I like all the hype around it. I still haven’t gotten around to playing it yet. So time to take this hype train to the station and take a look at the pros and cons of Pokemon Go. First let’s look at the pros. One of the first things that come to mind is that people playing are actually going outside and getting exercise. In an interview with my friend Adam, he said, “Because people complained recently, and the creators added things for safety such as stopping you if you try to play while driving.” Also according to the video Pokemon GO: 5 Reasons Why You Should Play it has actually helped people with a mental health problem and given them motivation to get outside. Also in that video he said that you can meet many new people also playing Pokemon Go. Now that we got that out of the way, let’s look at this from a parent's perspective. Let’s look at the cons. The first thing is that even with all the safety precautions this game is still dangerous. Poke stops are places where people can tell you where rare Pokemon are, but some people decided to use a poke stop to rob people at gunpoint. This is terrifying! How can the developers of Pokemon Go let this happen? Also, in Pokemon Go, An Honest Review from the Washington Post, it says, "Usually, if someone approaches you and says, 'Hey, get into my car, and we might catch an imaginary knockoff dragon!' you telephone the police. Now you get in — and you pay them." In addition, in this video 10 Crazy Things That ONLY Happened Thanks To Pokemon GO, it was mentioned that among other things, someone was playing Pokemon Go in the Holocaust Museum. A girl also found a dead body while playing Pokemon Go, and there was a person that got stabbed with a knife and then continued to play Pokemon Go and didn't get treatments until the next day. I think I made my point. In conclusion, Pokemon Go is a dangerous but fun game. It’s fine for you to get the game, as long as you consider all the risks. In the words of Pokemon: KEEP CATCHING ‘EM ALL!