Ed. 74 - Passion

OUR MISSION

SUBMISSIONS

Published monthly, The Talon strives to be an innovative student magazine that is entertaining, intellectually provocative, and visually engaging. We are conscious of the responsibility of writing and publishing, and we seek to create a dynamic magazine that is worthy of its readers. We show respect for our readers by exposing them to a variety of perspectives.

Ultimately, The Talon seeks to bring Graded to the world and bring the world to Graded.

The Talon wants to hear from you! We encourage submissions and ideas for articles and themes from all members of the Graded community. We publish in English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish. We reserve the right to edit submissions for length and clarity. The opinions expressed in the articles are those of the writers and not necessarily of The Talon. For this reason, we do not accept anonymous submissions. Send submissions, ideas, and themes to: talon@graded.br

TALON STAFF 2010-2011

About the Cover

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF: Danielle Aguilar & Danielle Bryant (a.k.a.

DA & DB) LAYOUT EDITOR: Naty Arenas (a.k.a. The Fixer)

Passion can be about many different things. We can have passion for a sport, art, a person, music, or a place. For this cover, I used a close up of a trumpet player to demonstrate his passion for music; the strain in his mouth and hands help illustrate that. As for the back cover, the repetitive images portray practice. When we are passionate about something, we tend to train, practice and work hard at it.

—Elaine Chyung

NEWS TEAM: Chris Thomas (Editor), Laura Deckers (Assistant Editor), Artur Renault (Reporter) FEATURES TEAM: Andrea Estrada (Editor), Ho Jun Yang (Assistant Editor), Melissa Fiszner (Reporter) ENTERTAINMENT TEAM: Luiza Justus (Editor), Olivia Dupasquier (Assistant Editor), Ashton Kim (Reporter) SPORTS TEAM: Isabella Zevallos (Editor), Yana Ahlden (Assistant Editor), Fernando Lima (Reporter) COLUMNISTS: Edu Estrada & Melanie Vladimirschi GENERAL REPORTERS: Gini Chi, Lupi Gontijo, Julia Wu BLOGGERS & ARTISTS: Luisa Alcântara and Leo Porto COVER ARTIST: Elaine Chyung PHOTO EDITOR: Julia Greenwald TEACHER ADVISORS: Josh Berg and Mary Pfeiffer PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE CONSULTANT: Maggie Moraes ▪ ▪ ▪ E-mail: talon@graded.br Blog: http://tal-on-line.blogspot.com

See The Big Picture?

Our next month’s theme is The Big Picture. For example, you could write about space and the cosmos, about a work of art (one that is grand or petite), television’s role in society, or a Hollywood classic film you think everyone should know about.

You could write about philosophy, about the Big Picture of why we are here in this sweet old world, or about photography.

You could examine the coming elections and their impact, or you could write a personal essay about a realization you had, when you finally saw something for what it really was.

Articles about any topic, not just the theme (750 words with an image, graph, or cartoon; 900 without) must be submitted to talon@graded.br by Wednesday, 8 September, 16:00.

We be green: Since August 2007, The Talon as been printed on recycled paper. Reduce, reuse, recycle!

editors in chief

Talon’s HS Top 20

Things to look forward to each year at Graded Danielle Aguilar & Danielle Bryant

T

o all new members of the Graded community, WELCOME from the Talon staff! Graded prides itself on its sense of community and its culture, lovingly referred to as the “Graded bubble.” In any new environment it is easy to feel lost or overwhelmed, especially if you miss orientation or spend the first two weeks on crutches. Whatever your case, in order to make the transition into the Graded community easier, the Talon has a list of the top twenty things to look forward to this year: 1. High School Trips Every year, at the end of September each class takes a weeklong trip to a different destination in Brazil in order to learn about a different theme: Community, Service, Culture, and Environmental Awareness. The trips are jam-packed with fun activities and great food. Whether you’re painting masks in Recife, samba dancing in Bahia, or snorkeling in Bonito, the High School trips are an amazing way to bond with your class and get to know Brazil. (The week free of classes is just an added bonus.)

2. Wacky Week A week at the end of October in which every Graded member, teachers and students alike can rummage through their closets and show their silly side. Beginning on the first day of the week and ending in a Halloween climax, themes of the days in the past have included Pajama Day, Nerd Day, Animal Day, Gender Switch Day, and Decades Day. Don’t be afraid to wear cardboard antlers on your head and run around the field in a cape this week, as it is socially (and fashionably) accepted for all.

3. Halloween Benefit Bash The Halloween Benefit Bash is another way Graded multitasks by celebrating Halloween and raising money for the school’s community service programs. Set up in the gym and student center, the Halloween Benefit Bash is a chance for student’s from all areas of the school to have some fun-andgames on campus. Watch for the GEE makeover; it’s the one way celebration and spending can get a little out of hand.

4. Zombie Zoo Twice a year, Habitat for Humanity organizes an event of mini-Woodstock proportions: people from all over the world gather at Graded for a one-night-only event! Okay, perhaps not but Zombie Zoo is one of Graded’s largest events. In order to raise money for their January trip, Habitat students-organize and run a completely student oriented concert. Student bands audition to perform their own pieces or renditions of others’

2 • the talon

work. Including pizza, close friends and great music, Zombie Zoo is an excellent way to spend a school night.

5. Community Night Community Night is one of the many times where Graded students can show their pride in our boys and girls varsity teams. Started last year by Mr. Bair as a way of supporting our teams, students come to watch the games and show our rival schools how it’s done. Dressed all in white, the Graded fans are something that cannot be missed.

6. Thanksgiving Celebration Thanksgiving Celebration is an event organized by the PTA and is a great way for the entire family to celebrate the American holiday. Home-made pumpkin pie, turkey, potatoes, as well as games and activities. Thanksgiving at Graded is certainly the best way to spend Thanksgiving in Brazil!

7. Airband One of the most anticipated flexes of the year, Graded’s Airband Competition often features a group of teenage boys dressed in ridiculous outfits dancing and singing to songs such as “The Final Countdown” and the Pokemon theme song. Anyone can enter this competition, no musical talent required, as long as you can rock an air guitar. Regardless of the final verdict of this intense thirty-minute competition, with flying wigs, crazy pants and perhaps even gyrating teachers, this is one flex assembly you won’t want to miss!

8. Run for Humanity Another event for Habitat fundraising, Graded dedicates an entire Saturday to raising money and promoting physical activity. Volunteers get pledges from willing donors in order to walk, run or dance laps around the track to gain funds! Spirit, such as all green for St. Patrick’s Day, is welcome!

9. Big 8 and Big 4 The two largest sports tournaments in the São Paulo area, schools from all over Brazil flock to participate and compete against the mighty Graded Eagles. Big 8 takes place in the first semester, composed of eight competing schools in soccer and basketball. During Big 4, held in the second semester, students compete against four different schools in softball, volleyball, and futsal. Athletes on these teams spend a week in the setting of Nosso Recanto playing tournament games and cheering on their fellow teammates. The tournaments are highly anticipated each season. Win or lose, Big 8 and Big 4 are

editors in chief

fantastic, fun experiences. Go Eagles!

10. Theater Productions If there is one thing that brings the Graded community together, it’s the theater productions. If you haven’t attended one before be prepared for singing, dancing and everything in between from both students and teachers. If you’re not inclined to be in the spotlight, working backstage with lighting and stage managing is a great way to still be involved.

11. Carnaval True to Brazilian culture, despite its American label, Graded celebrates Carnaval with a weeklong vacation. Although you may be laden with vacation work, what better way to read an English novel or do history research than lying in the sand watching the waves?

12. Celebration of the World Every year in the second semester, the PTA hosts a celebration of the world on campus. Usually on a Saturday, almost all the countries at Graded are represented with booths of typical food from those countries. While most students use this occasion as an excuse to eat grotesque amounts of food, it does serve the greater purpose of celebrating Graded’s multicultural community. Complete with a silent auction and live entertainment, it is one Saturday where you will be dying to go to school.

13. Film Fest Every year, the junior and senior IB film students have a chance to showcase their hard work and dedication. The entire Graded community looks forward to this night where they can see their family, friends, teachers and students up on the big screen. Held at night in the auditorium with concessions and delicious treats provided by the PTA and the activity GEE, the Film Fest is Graded’s chance to take a glimpse at the world of potential movie fame and fortune.

14. Jazz Fest The Jazz Fest comes around once a semester and is the Jazz Band’s way of showing of their incredible talent. Hosted in the evening, it exhibits some of Graded’s finest musical talent. While there is a requirement of musical talent to join the Jazz Band, coming to their concert has no such requirement.

Please come and enjoy the wonderful music!

15. Senior Awards Ceremony The late May awards ceremony for the Graded seniors is a little unconventional in form but exciting to watch, as seniors

march on stage to the beat of the Indiana Jones theme song.

In their traditional black robes, they all look rather normal until your line of vision reaches their heads. As usual, Graded students turn a serious situation into something rather humorous, in this case by wearing the weirdest hats they can possibly find.

16. Senior Prank At the end of every year, as the seniors of Graded grow closer and closer to freedom, they decide to leave behind a final farewell to the school. As the pranks grow more anticipated each year, one can only imagine what this year’s seniors will think up. As at most schools, Graded seniors have a long tradition of coming up with creative and at times extravagant senior pranks and we predict this year will be no exception. Graded 2011 seniors have vowed to make this year memorable. Two oh double what? SENIORS! 17. StuCo Flex Though these flexes are not held nearly as often as the student body would like, when they do occur, they certainly are memorable. Between the excitement of hearing our StuCo president speak and the potential of getting ice cream in the process, the half hour usually ends up resembling a frenzy of sugar-overdosed elementary school children rather than a High School flex.

18. Daisy and Adelaide in the office If you ever need a bus pass, late check-in, or just a friendly smile, stop by the front office and see them!

19. Edu at the snack bar One of the most well known and most frequently visited places at Graded school: the snack bar. The perfect combination of a Portuguese lesson and a culinary experience. The snack bar goes by many names, but generally can be assumed to be the salvation of all students who have a free block. This famous location wouldn’t be what it is without the man behind the counter, Edu. New students should look forward to his incredible cooking skills: no one can quite microwave a croissant like he can. Whether its joking with the students, singing songs or just eternally smiling, Edu is always there, making the student center the place to be. Next time you visit, tell Edu we referred you (not that it makes much of a difference).

20. Cookies at the Snack Bar Chocolaty, warm, delicious, melt in your mouth cookies. Need we say more? (For purchasing location, read above.)

the talon • 3

editors in chief

From Mascara to Murder A reflection on the killing of Reena Virk Danielle Bryant

I

n May of this year, Walkerville High School put on a play called “The Holding Room,” based on a bullying case that turned fatal in British Columbia. The play and its director, John Anthony Nabben, have won many awards and continue to spread awareness about teen bullying. The case on which the play is mainly based has been called “an In Cold Blood for our colder times.” The students and faculty of Walkerville High School wanted the story of Reena Virk to be told and remembered as a testament against social bullying.

Thirteen years ago, on November 22nd 1997, a girl named Reena Virk in the town of Saanich, British Columbia was pulled out of the water underneath the Craigflower Bridge, dead. Eight days earlier she had been brutally beaten to death by a group of local teenagers. The Friday before, a gathering of teenagers at the bridge had seemed innocent enough, weeks of school ending in a party, time to smoke and drink and hang out. When a group of girls, who would later be called the Shoreline Six by media tabloids invited, Reena Virk to accompany them that Friday night, she hardly hesitated. Reena was described as never really having fit in at high school. She was made fun of and bullied constantly because of her weight and background: Reena’s family had emigrated from India to Canada and were Jehovah’s Witnesses.

As a result of her torment at school Reena began to rebel at home. She began to smoke, broke curfew, and constantly disobeyed her family’s strict rules. In the beginning, her family deemed this as a phase; an attempt to gain the approval of the “popular” girls at school. However, Reena eventually accused her father of sexual harassment. The Canadian Ministry had Reena removed from her home and placed in a foster home. It was then when Reena the girls she would later claim to be her “friends.”

Many of these girls and the culture they lived in were heavily influenced by the gangs of Los Angeles. The students of Shoreline modeled themselves after gangs such as the Crips, wearing white clothes and spewing profanity.

One of the girls in the group was known to admire gangster Al Capone and aspire to be a female mobster. Two of the girls Reena had met at the foster home, who were later just referred to by their initials in the investigation, revealed possible motives for Reena’s beating. N.C., as she was later called, told authorities that Reena was always jealous of her and her beauty and so she began spreading rumors about how “fake” she was. N.C. also accused Reena of stealing her phonebook and prank calling all her friends. During this time, another girl at the foster home accused Reena of stealing her boyfriend.

These two girls began to call their friends and plot of ways to destroy Reena. Not long after this plan was con-

4 • the talon

ceived to bring Reena down to the bridge and teach her a lesson. Once they had convinced Reena to meet them at the bridge, a group of about ten girls circled around her and began pushing and yelling at her. N.C. eventually grabbed her and burned a cigarette into her forehead. Reena was continually beat and punched until she was bleeding profusely and fell on the ground.

It was at this point that one of the girls stood in front of Reena and told the others to back off or else they would get the next hit. As the crowd began to thin and the other students began to head home, Reena got up and staggered, bloody, up the hill to the bus stop in order to get home. However, Reena was never going to make it home.

Two members of the group decided to stay behind that night: a girl by the name of Kelly Ellard and a boy named Warren Glowatski. Neither were friends, yet they were linked on this night by the same crime. Kelly Ellard was N.C.’s best friend and felt that Reena should be taught an even harsher lesson. Kelly was often described as a “grubby troublemaker” and was considered to be insolent by many of her teachers.

Warren was considered a sweetheart of Shoreline, popular with the boys of “the Crips,” as well as having a popular long-term girlfriend, Syreeta. On this night however, Warren transformed from his usual quiet, peaceful, humble self into a ruthless monster. When Reena was being beaten he was accused of kicking her in the head multiple times. He then assisted Kelly in dragging Reena back down to the water and beat her several more times and then watched as Kelly held Reena’s head underwater with her foot. Eight days later Reena Virk was found half-clothed, dead in the water.

The Shoreline Six were sentenced to varied amounts of jail time for their individual roles. Warren was convicted of second degree murder in a trial the following year. This June he was released on full parole, after many failed hearings. Kelly was tried multiple times for her role in the murder and has most recently been convicted on second degree murder in April 2005 and given a life sentence.

At the end of the twentieth century, Canada was repulsed by this cruel, vicious killing of Reena Virk by girls no older than sixteen. Since her death, Reena’s story has been told in the novel Under the Bridge by Rebecca Godfrey, as well as numerous television news specials, and a monologue play.

It is currently being made into a feature film. The world will not soon forget her story, as teen violence continues to erupt in the new century, a grim trait of the next generation.

editors in chief

Graded’s Own Breakfast Club My icebreaker -inspired epiphany Danielle Aguilar

A

s expected, this school year started out in the typical way: catch up with friends, introduce ourselves to new students, walk into flex listening to Mr. Bair’s favorite song (that’s a new one actually), and at the end of the day we come home already up to our ears in homework.

Like any Graded student, I employ a lot of hyperbole when it comes to speaking about homework. It is not a bad way to start though. We do spend the day reconnecting with teachers and friends, getting to spend the day entertained by whatever icebreakers our teachers have come up with. These icebreakers usually serve as a way of starting the year off on a lighter note (and perhaps to some extent they are meant to comfort students on their first day back) and though I did learn something by raking in a perfect score on Mr. Bentley’s “Genius Test,” the lesson that still keeps me thinking is the icebreaker from Mr. Livingston’s class.

Mr. Livingston, in what I believe was a successful attempt to spice up the first day of HL History, implemented an icebreaker based on the movie The Breakfast Club instead of diving straight into World War I. For those of you who have not seen The Breakfast Club (shame on you, by the way), I will provide a short summary. Released in 1985, the film is the story of five students who are forced to attend a nine-hour Saturday detention, each of them fitting into a convenient high school archetype: the brain, the athlete, the princess, the basket case, and the criminal. What does this have to do with HL History? Not much, but the exercise did give us each a great deal of insight on the differences between how we see ourselves and how we appear to our peers, especially those who might not know us as well. We were asked to rank on a scale of one to five how well we fit into each of the categories, or rather stereotypes, from The Breakfast Club. Once we ranked ourselves, we were asked to fold over the paper in order to hide our answers and to pass it around to the other members of our group so they could rank each of us as well. The process was more difficult that it initially appeared. How was I going to decide how well a certain person fit into a certain ideal or stereotype?

As I wiggled in my seat like a kindergartener waiting

for snack time, I wondered what others were writing about me. The group I was in was a neat balance between those who know me pretty well and those who probably know me more by reputation than by actual interaction. Yet as I unfolded my paper, I had a pretty good idea of what it was going to say: brain and basket case, nerd and loner, the quirky bookworm. I guessed correctly, of course. I have known my peers long enough to know how they perceive me and once again it was not unexpected. Yet, their views of me were quite different from my own self-perception. An athlete, one of the descriptions that was closer to the top on my own list, came in dead last when ranked by my peers.

This whole experience made me think of this edition’s theme, Passion. I began to wonder how much of a person’s beliefs and passions are actually visible to the rest of us as their fellow high school students. People Julia Greenwald associate me with being the brain because the part of me that they see every day prides herself on good grades and academic excellence. They have never met the other part of me that wakes up at 5:00 every morning to go for at least an hour-long run. Taking into consideration the fact that my peers overlooked certain parts of who I am, I cannot help but wonder how much I am overlooking when it comes to other people. Thinking of the class of 2011 in particular, how much do we actually know about each other? As seniors I imagine that we will go through a whole phase where we are constantly thinking that this is our last this or last that, but could this be one of our last chances to really see each other for who we are?

I understand that the point of Mr. Livingston’s icebreaker was not to make us feel stereotyped. On the contrary, it was meant to show us that we are all so much more than that. There is not just one side to each of us and I think we all were genuinely surprised when we showed each other the differences between how we described ourselves and how others described us. It was as if we were all at once asking “Who are we as a class?” To quote The Breakfast Club, “You see us as you want to see us... In the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain...and an athlete…and a basket case…a princess…and a criminal…Does that answer your question?”

the talon • 5

point of view

Hi, my passion is...

But will it make you happy?

Julia Greenwald

N

ame. Social security number. Custodial parent. SAT scores. ACT scores. Transcripts. Recommendation letters. Extracurricular activities. Never once, however, does a college application ever ask one simple thing, what is your passion? Sure, there’s field of interest, or intended major but seriously, is that really your passion?

Maybe this whole “find your passion” speech is overused, a major cliché or simply getting old very fast, but as a senior I feel it is my right to question what my passion is. Will I ever be able to follow it, let alone share it with the people who will be deciding my future (or at least the next four years of it)?

First though, what is a passion? After mulling it over in my head for a while, I’ve come to see that it is more than just your hobby, obscure pasttime, or favorite subject in school. It is like an invisible guiding force, one that pulls you even when your life seems perfect enough.

As graduation and adulthood approach, so does the chance to be the directors of our own happiness. We have the power to make our own choices, without needing to fulfill any requirements along the way.

This philosophy came to me after reading an article on the New York Times website by Stephanie Rosenbloom entitled “But Will It Make You Happy?” In the article, Rosenbloom tells the story of Tammy Strobel, a woman who “had too much.” Too much china, too much apartment space, too many clothes, a $40,000 a year salary, but surprisingly, not enough happiness.

Dedicated to filling the void her mass consumption could not seem to satisfy, Ms. Strobel, decided to live simply.

She and her husband donated most of their clothes and other personal items to charity and were challenged to “live with just 100 personal items.” The couple succeeded and now, three years later, they “live in a spare, 400-square-foot studio with a nice-sized kitchen,” and live off an “income of about $24,000 a year.” Ms. Strobel owns “four plates, three pairs of shoes and two pots,” but no longer has $30,000 worth of debt. Ms. Strobel says, “The idea that you need to go bigger to be happy is false.

I really believe that the acquisition of material goods doesn’t bring about happiness.”

As high school students, we are different consumers than Ms. Strobel. We don’t own apartments, earn a salary, or owe thousands of dollars to banks. However, we are well on our way there and the message Ms. Strobel is trying to share with us is to understand what will make us happy.

6 • the talon

One of Julia’s passions found at: electronics.howstuffworks.com

Senior year has helped open my eyes to all the responsibilities that lie ahead. Yes, it’s been about a month, but college applications and the IB wait for no one. Nevertheless, with great responsibility lies the possibility to not take yourself too seriously. We are told during assemblies and through cleverly crafted YouTube videos that we will have jobs that don’t exist today. At this very moment, we are living through a recession, one that we as the “future” must fix, or at least, survive through.

It seems as if all the neon signs lining our road of life are pointing us in the wrong direction. Instead of focusing on the final destination, the goal of that college acceptance or that dream job, we should instead focus on the road that takes us there.

The dirt we must pave, the pot holes we will eventually fall into and have to climb out of, and the random strangers we’ll meet on the way.

Ms. Strobel suggests we, “Give away some of your stuff.

See how it feels.” If that is what makes you happy, then go for it. My suggestion is to take a breath. Freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors, try to find your passion. Find what makes you happy and stick to it so you don’t have to one day realize you aren’t happy driving in your Mercedes or working at JP Morgan. Enjoy your high school years, because as hard it they may seem, at least you don’t pay bills or taxes. Use this time to find your passion and to spread it around.

point of view

Ah, paixão, que coisa mais idiota!

Não, não é o que você está pensando

Lupi Gontijo

H

á os que dizem que a paixão é o que nos difere dos animais, nos anima, nos dá sentido à vida enfim. Eu acredito nisso tudo, mas há um aspecto da paixão (e do amor) que me fascina.

A paixão é diferente do amor, não vamos confundi-los. Quando se fala em amor, gera-se uma dependência emocional muito grande, que se alimenta do tempo, como diz o francês André Comte-Sponville. O exemplo clássico é o do amor ao sexo oposto, que nos proporciona uma sensação espetacular enquanto dura, mas no final, ao percebermos que essa sensação será absolutamente efêmera, a gente se perde em prantos e escândalos. Só não se torna um trauma porque a mente e o corpo humano precisam disso. Já a paixão, ao contrário do amor, é egocêntrica e nos deixa cegos, voltados a nós mesmos. É o desejo de possuir o que não temos, de satisfazer os momentos tediosos, encerrar a monotonia do cotidiano.

Continuarei a usar o clássico exemplo. Ver uma pessoa desejável certamente nos faz pensar em nós mesmos : “como seria legal a participação dela na minha vida”, ou “quantos momentos deliciosos ela me proporcionaria”. É assim que o amor nasce, uma simples paixão egocêntrica evolui e se transforma numa emoção vivida a dois (ou não, nos casos fracassados). A emoção torna-se amor quando não há mais espaço para pensamentos individualistas e fazemos sacrifícios, nos tornamos mais tolerantes e generosos. O amor não quer nada em troca; é uma paixão bem trabalhada.

Dito isso, há uma semelhança entre a paixão e o amor: a falta da razão. Eu me sinto um idiota quando não tenho uma paixão e, quando finalmente a encontro, me sinto mais idiota ainda. É essa falta da razão que nos faz dançar e cantar no meio da rua, sorrir ao lembrar de uma música ou construir uma cabeça de rato gigante (se não entendeu esse último exemplo, verá do que trato… em algum momento).

Por ser a paixão algo tão irracional, falemos dos que são menos sensíveis às imposições da razão – os artistas. Foi o amor que motivou Beethoven a compor uma de suas mais belas obras, “Sonata ao Luar”, e dedicá-la a uma de suas alunas por quem estava apaixonado, Giulietta Guicciardi, chamada por ele de “a condessa do luar”. Lembremos também que a “Nona Sinfonia” foi composta quando o músico já estava completamente surdo.

Picasso, também famoso por suas inúmeras paixões, afirmava que tinha que trocar de mulher esporadicamente para não se deixar desconcentrar. Isso já seria um exemplo de paixão. Van Gogh viveu sozinho, pois nenhuma de suas relações dava certo (nunca se tornaram amor). Salvador Dali tinha um amor tão grande por Gala, que dedicou uma infinidade de obras a ela.

O amor pode nos impulsionar a produzir coisas maravilhosas.

A paixão também é fonte de inspiração, uma força que nos motiva, porém perigosa pois passageira. O amor desses artistas à arte nunca pereceria.

Mas será que hoje em dia ainda é assim? A cada dia que passa acredito que vivemos numa sociedade incapaz de demonstrar suas paixões e amores, e que talvez tenha ainda vergonha de se expressar emocionalmente. Estamos na era digital, na era de consumo, e nossa sociedade acabou freando a expressão de paixão por causa da valorização ao dinheiro.

Hoje em dia, a arte tornou-se objeto de consumo. Sites de música como Beatport (exemplo gritante) não valorizam tanto as próprias músicas ou os artistas em si, mas a compra efetuada por sua clientela.

Em relação à música, o melômano da época Romântica não é o mesmo de hoje em dia – naquela época a única forma de ouvir música era por meio dos concertos. Hoje em dia, somos metralhados por notas o dia inteiro – dentro de casa, no carro, em lojas. StuCo ainda deu a idéia de haver música nos corredores.

Onde quer que estiverrmos existirá música. Perdemos contato com a música viva, e eu, que costumo ouvir música o tempo todo, todavia acredito que deveríamos viver num mundo mais silencioso, no qual pudéssemos dar mais valor à boa música e a seus artistas (um breve parênteses: assista a “4:33”, composição de John Cage, no YouTube).

Sei que não penso muito no imenso trabalho que Jamie Cullum certamente teve ao compor “Twentysomething” quando escuto a música numa gravação, mas sim quando ouço Emmanuel Pahud tocá-la, ao vivo, na Sala São Paulo. Pois lá é que o vejo respirando, concentradíssimo. Numa gravação podemos ter a impressão errada de que o artista fez aquilo rapidamente e, portanto, não houve grande dificuldade ou um ato de genialidade. Mas no show ao vivo vemos o dedilhamento do guitarrista, o respirar do saxofonista e vemos o trabalho que dá não só tocar, como criar obras de arte como essas.

Antigamente, as gravações musicais eram só um pequeno bônus, incomparáveis à música ouvida ao vivo. Mas hoje em dia, com a tecnologia acústica em gravações tão avançada, o ouvinte passa a exigir que a produção musical do artista, em shows e concertos, assemelhe-se à tecnológica, e não ao que vem do coração do artista naquela hora. Será que hoje em dia vivemos menos e menos apaixonados? Será que há menos e menos amor? Será que a nossa mentalidade hobbesiana e nossa infinita voracidade por dinheiro destruirão o propósito das artes?

the talon • 7

point of view

The Middle Children of History Our Great Depression is our lives; our Great War is spiritual Christopher Thomas

E

verybody loves talking about our generation, it seems. We are heralded as the leaders of tomorrow. The ones who will rescue the world from the evils that the previous generation has put everyone through. We will be the ones to stop global warming, end poverty, stop wars, promote respect, tolerance, diversity, and all other good things, right?

Every new generation is the most empowered one. We currently possess not only the tools, but the knowledge to use the tools we have, to solve myriad problems. We are the generation that knows how to best navigate the Internet. Why wouldn’t we be? Growing up with something, one becomes immersed in it, exploring every nook and cranny and thus possessing the best roadmap for it.

What do we do with such power, though? Spend most of our time on Facebook, MSN, or Twitter, it seems. Now, none of these things are inherently bad, but the way many of us use them is.

Attention is what we seek, and what better tools to than these? We post pictures of ourselves with our friends to prove that we are cool. We expose our musical taste on our info page to show everyone how in-tune with culture we are. We tweet what we did today in the hopes that others will care and comment on it.

But this impersonal relationship through the screen has the devastating ability of eliminating true, meaningful conversation. If someone can just look on another’s Facebook page to see what bands he likes, doesn’t that eliminate a subject they could talk about? If someone tweets about her day, why bother asking her what she did?

This generation has the most information available to it than ever before, but we receive it so quickly and incessantly that there is very little time to reflect on it. If we are each canvasses of artwork, we are being constantly repainted without allowing the previous paint to dry. If we are a piece of music, we have so many layers on maximum volume that you cannot hear one part over the other. Quantity of information greatly overshadows the quality of it, and emphasis is placed, in all walks of life, on the quantity of something rather than

its usefulness. Why know so much if we won’t reflect on it? The worst part of it all is that we do this to ourselves. We allow ourselves to fall into the informational trap.

So much is fired at us all at once that its value has depreciated greatly. If gold were omnipresent and could be found anywhere, it would be worth nothing. Likewise, since we can find easy conversation, information, and entertainment anywhere, the value of it is diminished. We fill up our lives with all these activities because we feel the constant need to be doing something. It is difficult to channel this desire into useful action, however, because it is so much easier to do the simple, unproductive things, and they achieve the same effect of keeping us busy.

An unlimited amount of power is stored within our generation. Yet, as Stan Lee so aptly put it, “with great power comes great responsibility.” Do we want this responsibility? Certainly, many of us do, but just as many seem not to. In these times, the easiest method of achieving success is to do as one is told. Many people in their place of work allow themselves to be conventional, because it’s what their superiors want and they’ll get an extra bonus and maybe a nice pay rise. Why settle for that, though?

Each and every one of us can do so much more. With the tools, power, and possibilities we have, we should not settle for less than excellence, than the best of our abilities in what we want to do. We can each change the world in our own ways. Want to write that best-selling novel? Don’t get yourself stuck in a cubicle doing temporary office work—write the thing.

Want to be an actor/actress? Don’t find yourself wearing a suit pushing papers. Want to become a CEO of that corporation?

Don’t let your ideas get sidelined. People can only fail if they decide to stop trying. Until then, they are merely traversing the pathway to success. It might be a very long road, and some of the stops might be very unpleasant, but we are limited only by the ceiling of our ambition.

An unlimited amount of power is stored within our generation. Yet, as Stan Lee so aptly put it, “with great power comes great responsibility.” Do we want this responsibility? Certainly, many of us do, but just as many seem not to.

8 • the talon

point of view

I Love College A newborn senior’s reflection Eduardo Estrada

I

have a confession to make. I have been thinking about college, that prestigious bastion of higher education, since the fifth grade. True story. My best friend and I promised each other that we would, one day in a very distant future, attend Harvard University togehter. Of course, at the time we had absolutely no idea what we were talking about. Harvard was probably the only university we could name, the words “college” and “university” were synonymous with each other, and our promise was the product of… well, I can’t remember since I was only eleven years old.

As I grew, so did my knowledge of that ever closer world of admissions and decisions, traditions and petitions. Thanks to a number of TV shows and movies, I found out that along with Harvard there were another seven universities that composed the Ivy League and that despite ranking alongside Ivies in every list, Stanford was not a member of the prestigious and exclusive club. MIT, Georgetown, Berkeley and Duke. I knew absolutely nothing about these schools but their names, but the connotations that those names carried became embedded in my subconscious.

This was in great part due to the famous “Senior Edition” of the magazine you currently hold in your hands. I wanted to be one of those seniors whose list was so full of pomp and prestige that he would be the envy of all his friends. It was with this mindset that I left the middle school. Yes, I know “brainwashed” does seem like the right term but believe me, I have no idea how it happened.

Thus far I had kept my growing obsession undercover, stealth, if you will. But, going into my freshman year and with the appearance of college visits, my condition soon became known to my closest friends who wouldn’t spare an opportunity to point out how ridiculous I was being. I remember being one of the three freshmen at an information session in 9th grade and deciding to wait one more year to truly immerse myself. Even as a sophomore I would get weird looks from the upperclassmen and snide remarks about my age.

Finally, in my junior year I was able to truly indulge in my obsession. I attended every information session available

(even those I had attended once or twice before). I bought the books, took the SAT course, took the SAT, filled in the contact cards, made good use of the College Board account I created in the eighth grade, and took the classic College Trip in January because my mom believed that my steadfast resolve for New England would falter if I experienced it during the winter (it didn’t). By the end of my junior year the stack of college

Julia Greenwald

pamphlets and catalogues I had collected was about as tall as my golden retriever. I organized all of the ones that interested me in alphabetical order as I prepared to go into my senior year and finally apply to college.

Almost seven years have passed since that fateful day in the fifth grade, and today the simple mention of the words college and application makes me cringe. After all of those years of being the only college-obsessed person in my group of friends, when they are all finally talking about it I simply can’t stand it. I wrote a rough draft for my application essay during the summer, but ever since the Common Application went live I have been in denial. You would expect that I’d be the first person to get it all done but no. I guess thinking about it, talking about it, and learning about it all made me feel like I was getting ready, like I would have an edge on everyone else, but now that I am faced with the reality of actually applying I simply can’t bring myself to do it. Nostalgia kicks in whenever I think about college and I begin to feel melancholy. Writing my applications means that I have to decide where I want to spend the next four years of my life, what I want to study, and above all it means that in one year’s time I’ll be off to Providence or some other place in the Northeast and that high school will be over. I am having premature separation issues.

Asher Roth, excuse me but… I wanna go to high school for the rest of my life.

the talon • 9

news

The iPad Sensation

Apple rolls along, but how long will it last?

Christopher Thomas

T

he holidays are over. Some of us, having travelled to faraway lands, have acquired the iPad, Apple’s newest device. The iPad, with its glossy look, touchscreen, and Apple logo, has generated millions of dollars in revenue, pointing to another stellar success for Apple in the technology industry.

But how long will this last? From the stock market crash in 1929 to the recent credit crunch when the housing market bubble burst, we see the economic fact that investments that are rising will not continue rising forever and ever and ever. They will eventually either stabilise…or fall.

One of Apple’s main strong points is also the critical factor that may lead to its downfall.

Steve Jobs, the architect of Apple’s success, is the creative hub of the organization. He is the alpha and the omega, and all projects and ideas are run by him. His complete control over all things Apple, and the amount of influence he has, have been highlighted very well on two big occasions. The first, in the 1980’s — when infighting led to Jobs being dismissed from the company — led to a period of lethargy and stagnation from the company, with very little innovation and a slump in profit. Upon Jobs’ return, Apple found its creative spark and made it big with the release of the iPod (a fancy word for a hard drive with software that plays music files) which has become nearly ubiquitous in modern society. Another telling event was the news that Jobs had suffered a heart attack, which proved to be untrue. However, at the time, it caused a fairly steep plummet in Apple’s stock price.

The day the news “Steve Jobs dies” becomes a reality, no doubt the same will happen. Except this time, there may be no recovery. Whereas Microsoft and other Apple competitors like Google are well-prepared for the future despite what happens to their heads — Bill Gates has delegated all creative responsibilities to others by stepping down from direct control of the company, and Google is a very decentralised entity — Steve Jobs maintains firm control of Apple, and no one is being groomed to replace him.

Apple has the remarkable ability of taking already-

10 • the talon

created devices, recycling their concepts, and marketing them incredibly effectively. Jobs is very much behind this, with his attitude of giving an edgy, space-aged look to his products, which attract consumers with their user-friendliness and technological charm. Effectively linking all his tools has been one of his greatest market strategies to date. Once one Apple product is bought, the way the system works, it compels the consumer to buy more Apple products, and creates an almost cult-like slippery slope scheme.

Gimmicks are also one of Apple’s many effective strategies for reeling in consumers. The iTouch and iPhone, as well as the recently released iPad, are all defined by their touch screen. The Josh Berg Macbook Air’s main selling point is its size and portability, despite the fact that it is basically a bare-bones, stripped-down laptop.

What happens when the man behind all these ideas is no longer able to continue? Apple has heavy competition in basically every market it’s a part of, save for their near monopoly in the MP3 player industry. While no doubt the brand name is strong, without the innovation of Jobs, and his uncanny ability to market products that are behind the current curve and still have them sell well, it is easy to see that Apple would fall into obscurity. After all, putting out a brick with the Apple logo on it would only sell so much before everybody started realising that it’s not that great. Brands can get you a long way despite shortcomings, but Jobs creates many of Apple’s main selling points, and his loss would hit the corporation incredibly hard.

In the meantime, it remains to be seen whether Apple will attempt to find a successor to Steve Jobs before one is actually needed. This correspondent doubts such a thing will happen, though, as Jobs’ well-documented ego will probably prevent it, and his immense power within the company will ensure he is able to stop him being replaced. Equally unlikely is the option of him stepping down, due to the aforementioned factors. After all, the joke goes that Steve Jobs only has a “send” button, and no “inbox” to speak of, so it’s unlikely he received the “we need an eventual replacement for you” memo.

news

The Giving Pledge

Gates and Buffet join forces for their boldest project yet Laura Deckers

W

hat do Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have in common?

The first answer that comes to mind is, of course, billions of dollars in their bank accounts. As reported by Forbes, Gates and Buffet are in possession of the largest fortunes in the world, and (almost) like Spiderman’s uncle would say, with great money comes great responsibility. These men have been brought together by their philanthropic spirits for their latest project, which requires “a moral commitment” from its participants, rather than a legal one.

Since June of this year, Gates and Buffet have invited billionaires to commit to The Giving Pledge, an organization in which some of the world’s wealthiest people promise to give away at least half of their fortunes to charitable causes of their choice either during their lifetime of after their deaths.

Buffet himself, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, a company responsible for ventures such as Wal Mart, has pledged away 99% of his net worth, roughly estimated around 47 billion dollars (in accordance with Forbes data).

Up to this date, 40 billionaires have already signed the pledge, an impressive figure to match its equally impressive donors, including New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Star Wars creator George Lucas. Of course, some members of the organizations, most notably Bloomberg due to his political career, have been accused of participating in the interest of their own image. Whether this is true or not, the fact remains that the pledge seems almost too good to be true.

Numerically speaking, the 40 names so far equal at least a total of 20 billion dollars directed to philanthropic causes. Gates and Buffet, who achieved the unthinkable in the corporate world, are setting out to do so in the world of giving, aiming for achieving 600 billion dollars worth of funding, an amount that seems almost unfathomable when considering it already surpasses half of what the U.S Government has invested in Iraq and Afghanistan during the past nine years(CostofWar. com), is roughly 600 times more than the donations made to Haiti following this year’s earthquake(according to a June report by CNN), and surpasses Brazil’s external debts almost three-fold (according to a July report found at Globo.com).

So while it may be true the world can become a better place with one good deed at a time, that sum of money might speed up the process a little. It may not be news that people who have more money than they could possibly ever spend (or that their children, neighbors, and distant relatives could, for

that matter) are giving some of it away, but a philanthropic gesture of this magnitude seems to be unprecedented.

This all raises the question of wealth and responsibility.

Considering that all of those who take the pledge do have more money than they could possibly spend, are they automatically required, or better yet, “morally committed” to relinquish part of their wealth? To what extent are Gates’s and Buffet’s actions commendable, rather than obligatory? In a letter to the organization stating his motives for the donation, Buffet seems to acknowledge both of these viewpoints, though we are still left to wonder: “My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest…That reality sets an obvious course for me and my family: Keep all we can conceivably need and distribute the rest to society, for its needs. My pledge starts us down that course.”

Even at Graded this question seems to come up, as there often seems to be a mixture of messages when it comes to community service. Our various charity groups sometimes seem to carry with them different philosophies; some base themselves on appealing to the good natures of some students, while others focus on our service as part of our responsibility as well off, fortunate students indebted to our community. The statement made by Gates and his wife can be said in fact to echo many of the Graded values and the importance we place on being meaningful as a community. They write, “Both of us were fortunate to grow up with parents who taught us some tremendously important values. Work hard. Show respect. Have a sense of humor. And if life happens to bless you with talent or treasure, you have a responsibility to use those gifts as well and as wisely as you possibly can.” As we are left to wonder about our own roles, these men are setting out to change the world.

To learn more about The Giving Pledge visit thegivingpledge.org http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/04/the-givingpledge-which-w_n_671077.html#s122725 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/04/the-givingpledge-which-w_n_671077.html#s122725 http://g1.globo.com/economia-e-negocios/noticia/2010/07/ divida-externa-brasileira-sobepara-us-225-bilhoes-em-junho.html

the talon • 11

news

Teacher Interviews Welcome to the High School!

Chris Thomas In this edition we interview four new high school teachers; the series of interviews will continue in our next edition.

Name: Valéria Aranha Subect: Portuguese Where you’re coming from: SP, Brazil

meal with Mr. Ghandi. Fictional, eh? If I can eat with fictional characters, I’ll have a dinner party with Yossarian from Catch-22, Ignacious J. Reilly from A Confederacy of Dunces, Alyosha from The Brothers or Prince Mishkin from The Idiot. Wow. That’d be too much fun.

Name: Joan Hinshaw Subject: OLC

Favorite Film: Kill Bill

Where you’re coming from: Atlanta, GA

Favorite Bands: Russian bands like DDT, Nautilus, Akvarium; MPB in general; well, I must confess I like opera too much (I’m afraid this preference makes me seem more old-fashioned than I am, but…)

Favorite book: Pedro Páramo (Juan Rulfo)

Favorite Film: That’s a tough question. I see a lot of films, but like French, Italian, or Spanish films because of the cinematography. My all-time favorites is Amelie or Volver or Postino

What students can do to get on your good side: Being brave: take their part in learning process, write in Portuguese, make mistakes, learn from mistakes, write more, make other mistakes, learn from them… This is the process that justifies my work. This is a passion for me about language: understanding the processes that underlie the mistakes and finding strategies to produce learning from the previous mistakes.

Favorite Bands: Hmm… that’s tough, too. I just listened to the Grateful Dead on my iPod, but I like Regina Spektor

If you could have dinner with anyone (real, fictional, alive, dead) who would it be: Rémy, the mouse from the film Ratatouille

If you could have dinner with anyone (real, fictional, alive, dead), who would it be: Barack Obama, but he might be too serious.

Favorite book: Favorite book changes often, but I like Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet What students can do to get on your good side: Offer a friendly greeting

Name: Dennis Harrington

Name: Elena Panayotova

Subject: Theater

Subject: Math

Where you’re coming from: New York, US

Where you’re coming from: Northwest School of the Arts, Charlotte, NC

Favorite Films: Life is Beautiful, American Beauty, Magnolia, This is Spinal Tap Fa v o r i t e B a n d s : To m Waits, The Decemberists, Neutral Milk Hotel, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon

Favorite Film: Slumdog Millionaire Favorite Bands: Faithless, Black Eyed Peas, Scooter

Favorite books: The Brothers Karamazov, Catch 22, The collected works of Anne Sexton and Pablo Neruda

Favorite book: Dumas’ Three Musketeers, Terry Pratchett’s Small Gods, Ayn Rand’s We the Living

What students can do to get on your good side: Bring your true selves to each class, be good to one another

What students can do to get on your good side: Bring their passion for math to class and be ready to learn

If you could have dinner with anyone (real, fictional, alive, dead) who would it be: Alive? Tom Waits. He’s possibly the most interesting performer out there. Dead? Give me a vegetarian

If you could have dinner with anyone (real, fictional, alive, dead), who would it be: Ayn Rand… and my grandparents.

12 • the talon

all photos by Julia Greenwald

news

The 2010 Elections A brief introduction Artur Renault

T

he school year has barely begun, and the Brazilian elections are approaching. On October 3, 135.8 million Brazilian voters will fill out their electronic ballots to choose the federal deputies, state deputies, senators, governors, and President they want to lead the country for the next four to eight years.

Right now, this important decision is plaguing the minds of many in Graded’s high school community, as Brazilian citizens are already allowed to vote at the age of sixteen.

Therefore, it is important that Graded students understand the presidential election. The intent of this article is not to sway anybody’s opinion towards any political candidate, but to present an informative summary.

The three main candidates for this position are Dilma Rousseff, José Serra, and Marina Silva. Whoever is elected will have the difficult job of succeeding Lula, whose presidency, although marked with various corruption scandals, has the highest approval ratings in the country’s history, at 76% according to Datafolha. This number is due mostly to the implementation of successful policies such as Bolsa Família.

Dilma Rousseff, the candidate from PT (Partido dos Trabalhadores, Worker’s Party), is the candidate supported by Lula. She was born in Minas Gerais to a Bulgarian-Brazilian father and a Brazilian mother. She developed a political interest during college, where she was part of several anti-dictatorship groups, resulting in her imprisonment and torture from 1970 to 1973. After this, she moved to Porto Alegre, where she held important offices both in city hall and the state government.

She was subsequently appointed as Minister of Mines and Energy and, most recently, Chief of Staff of the Presidency.

Dilma’s main focus is to expand Lula’s social policies in order to lower the poverty levels in Brazil. Other promises include a taxing reform, cutting of government spending, and lowering the cost of food, medicine, and electricity.

José Serra is PSDB’s (Partido Social Democrata Brasileiro, Social Democratic Brazilian Party) presidential candidate, and Lula’s main opposition’s candidate. He was born

in São Paulo, where he served as president of the National Students Union (UNE), one of the groups that most opposed the dictatorship, at the age of 20. Pursued by the government, he fled to Chile, then to the United States, where he studied economics. After his return to Brazil in 1978, he became federal deputy, senator, Minister of Planning, Minister of Health, mayor of São Paulo, and finally governor of São Paulo.

Serra’s promises include continuing Lula’s social programs, as well as the encouragement of culture and sports, lowering of taxes, and development of agriculture.

Marina Silva, the candidate from PV (Partido Verde, Green Party), has a very different background from the other two. She was born in a small community of rubber tappers in Acre, and moved to Rio Branco, the state’s capital, at the age of 16, where she portalexame.abril.com.br learned to read and write.

There she also met Chico Mendes, a very important environmental activist, with whom she avidly campaigned for the environment. She later became senator and Minister of the Environment. Her biggest projects involve environmental protection, investment in security, lowering of interest rates, and creating jobs.

At the moment this article was written, the polls put Serra with 28%, followed by Dilma with 46%. This constitutes a technical draw, as the error margin is of 2%. Marina is third with 12%, while 14% will vote for other candidates, blank, or are still undecided.

However, there is still plenty of time. There are still two months until the election, and a lot can happen: the political situation of the country can change, candidates can change promises, and the voters can change their minds. Probably, this election will last even longer, since if no candidate has the majority of the popular vote, the elections continue into the second round, where the two most popular candidates compete for at least half of the votes.

Now, the country must vote and wait to see who will win the election, and preside over Brazil for the next four years.

the talon • 13

news

An interview with Mr. Peterson A Talon introduction to our new principal Natalia Arenas Naty Arenas: Where are you originally from?

Mr. Blair Peterson: I’m originally from the United States—the midwest, specifically Illinois, outside of Chicago, and then Michigan. I grew up in the suburbs, in the cornfields outside of Chicago. It was good.

N.A.: Where have you been before Graded?

B.P.: Our home now for my family is North Carolina. We have a house at the beach, and we go there every summer. My wife and I took a year off, spending it there at the beach. Our kids went to school there and we got to know that community. Before that, we were in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I was the middle and high school principal at Mt. Kiara International School for four years and loved that. I loved Asia. I got to travel all around so that was enjoyable. And then before that I was in Quito, Ecuador at Academia Cotopaxi. Going from Quito to Asia was a huge culture shock, but at Cotopaxi I was the secondary principal for five years. I really enjoyed Latin America, and I learned some Spanish. I got to know some really good friends there, so that was a good experience for me. And then before that, I was in North Carolina as an assistant principal at a public school. I had received my doctorate from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and so we just kind of fell in love with Chapel Hill and with North Carolina. So, it’s a good place to have a home.

N.A.: What are your passions?

B.P.: I just shared this with the faculty at our first meeting, so the three that I focused on were these: one passion is my family. I have three children: Maya, who will be four in a couple of weeks; Maxine, who is nine and Maclean, who is eleven; and my wife, Jennifer. As a father and husband I really enjoy spending time with my children and watching them grow and just doing fun things with my family, so that’s definitely a passion. My second passion is technology and education, and I’m really passionate about providing students with an education that is more appropriate for today’s world and the future. We talk about 21st century schools that look totally different from a traditional school, providing students with tools so that we have the technological tools to be real scientists, real mathematicians, to be authors, to be social scientists, leading to collaboration around the world and connections around the world, and so I’m very, very passionate about that. And also, part of that is the interconnectivity we have in today’s world

14 • the talon

and how easily you can communicate with people in the United States or Malaysia or Europe. It’s real communication; there’s substance to it. You can learn from them, they can learn from you, and you can contact experts and find about research going on in the rainforest of Malaysia and learn from that. And the other part of it is the really significant problems that we have in this global world, either with poverty or with the environment; those are very challenging problems, and we owe it to students today to start looking at tackling those issues. So that is something I can get excited about. And another passion I have, as a principal, is that I love seeing students performing or achieving at levels that are really [raises hands emphatically to imply “high”]. I love seeing teachers take students to another level, whether it’s in English class or in the band or in drama class. Where students go do things they never thought they could do before, and I come away feeling great. So I love, as principal, thinking that I’m kind of a part of that.

N.A.: Were you a teacher before you became principal?

B.P.: I taught US History and Economics in two different high schools in the United States, but that was quite a long time ago.

N.A.: What’s your favorite movie?

B.P: Now being a father I watch a lot of kid movies so my favorite kid movie is The Incredibles. I love that movie just because it talks about letting people use their strengths and talents in positive ways. I like Quentin Tarantino movies. I really like Pulp Fiction. It’s been a while since I watched that, but I love the way he put it together with different scenes and kind of brought the whole story together at the end. And there’s another movie that I’ve always enjoyed, The Usual Suspects.

N.A.: What is your pet-peeve?

B.P.: My wife says that I hate it when someone in my family uses my toothbrush and when the girls in the house use my comb and don’t put it back where they found it.

N.A.: What attracted you to Graded?

B.P: Graded has a great reputation in the international school circuit, the brand name of Graded is pretty impressive. It has a reputation for having really high quality teachers. It also has a reputation for top students, but also a wide-range of

news students as far as academics go. It also has a wide reputation for high-quality programs in the arts, service, athletics, and so I wanted a school that had a wide range of programs for students because I think it’s really important for students to find their niche, something they’re really good at. I think in smaller schools it’s harder for them to do that, and I think Graded has that. I think that the warmth, energy, and enthusiasm you have in a country like Brazil, in Sao Paulo, is very attractive to me and my family because I think that it feels comfortable to us. It’s great to be able to develop friendships with people. I had no idea until I’d been here now how important relationships are here. And Brazilians constantly remind me in a very positive, subtle way that sometimes it’s important to develop a relationship with someone before you start trying to do business with someone and to work with them, so that’s very refreshing. I think the school but also the country and the culture of Brazil were appealing to me.

N.A.: What is your overall impression of Graded after having been here three weeks?

B.P.: There aren’t many real surprises. I’ll tell you, the first day of school gave me a really good impression because I just saw the warmth of the community. People hadn’t seen each other for a month or so, teachers who hadn’t seen students for a while, and it was just really refreshing to see people getting acquainted again in the halls. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?

N.A.: Yes, I do.

B.P.: So yeah, that was great, and I just felt this is a tight-knit community. That’s my impression. In my interactions with students I’ve been very impressed. I thought the Community Read was really good, primarily because the students led the

discussions, and so I was really impressed by the leadership in that regard. Just today the professor we had here [Amit Goswami], and the questions the students were asking. I was very impressed by those two things. So I’m pleased and happy to be here. I think it’s a good place. And then I’ve really enjoyed working with teachers, and we’re starting to see the direction we want to go which isn’t anything new or a big change. I think we all kind of have the same kind of vision about what we want to see in the future, so that’s good.

N.A.: What is that vision? What do you want to accomplish in the future?

B.P.: We have a school-wide goal, and I don’t know how well I can explain this because it’ll be in education jargon, but the priority now for us is working on improving our assessment techniques, improving how we determine whether students know something, or how we determine whether they are able to do something. And using that information to improve our instruction and to improve our program. I guess that sounds pretty technical, but we really want to work on that so that teachers are able to develop a better understanding of what their students know and are able to do. Then we work together collaboratively, teachers working together, making changes to try and help students along.

Let’s say for example in an IB class, like IB math standard level, you look at how the Julia Greenwald kids did last year or the last several years and then we ask, “How can we improve the program for the kids coming in now?” and “Where is it we want our juniors to be at the end of the first semester?” The math teachers are saying we want them to be here, and so when teachers go to assess they can say, “Well, have we gotten that far?” or do we need to work on certain things to get the students to where they need to be. There’s that. And then also we’re going to start talking about how Graded stands in terms of this 21st century education. Where we are now and where we want to go in the future. In the Middle School, in Grades 6 and 7 they’ve gone 1:1 laptops so the kids and the teachers have tools in their hands, and so where is the High School going to go in the future with that, and how can we improve in that area? So those are two focus areas right now.

the talon • 15

news

Commun Happy fifth anniversary, Community Read!

The organizers

“This is what the contemporary self wants. It wants to be recognized, wants to be connected: It wants to be visible. If not to the millions, on Survivor or Oprah, then to the hundreds, on Twitter or Facebook.

This is the quality that validates us, this is how we become real to ourselves—by being seen by others.”

Alex expounds on his two minutes of silence

— William Deresiewicz, “The End of Solitude”

“I had a great experience leading the discussion because I was able to experience not only leading but participating and sharing my experience with the text with my peers.” — Sami Isman

Group discussions

16 • the talon

R nity e

news

y a D

ad

Compiled by Danielle Aguilar & Natalia Arenas

2010

A senior group

“I was very lucky because my freshmen engaged in discussions for every question I had. I loved the experience and many new ideas about the texts came up.” — Melanie Vladimirschi

All photographs by Karin Gunn

“I felt like we enjoyed the Community Read more this year, and everyone in my group was more relaxed. It was great!” — Georgia Caldart

“I had a difficult time with giving the discussion some focus and balancing who spoke.” — Rotem Magal

“I had a positive experience as a discussion leader. I was a little nervous at first, but the group was great and the conversation just flowed.” —Meli De La Paz

the talon • 17

features

Fiction Trumps Reality Is it passion or borderline obsession?

Andrea Estrada

I

think you love Twilight more than you love me,” complained 31-year old Chrystal Johnson’s husband. After her husband’s confrontation, Chrystal recalled moving out of the house and fighting hard to save her marriage for six weeks. While this may be an extreme case, women around the world have suffered from similar conflicts due to their obsessions with the precious Edward Cullen... Or is it with his tough and often hairy opponent Jacob Black?

The problem is that it is not just Edward and Jacob that have girls feeding off of a fantastical love illusion; it is just about any male, successful, attractive, and somewhat dysfunctional fictional character: Harry Potter, the innocent and brave wizard; Ron Weasley, his not-so-brave but still ridiculously charming friend; Derek Shepherd, the caring neurosurgeon of Grey’s Anatomy; Nate Archibald, the idyllic, popular rich boy in Gossip Girl; or Chuck Bass, the mysterious bad boy of the show. All have a few thousand girls dreaming day and night about their imaginary existence. There is something about the unreal that hooks so many people to the extent that it seems no nonfictional human being will ever be sufficient. Real men are evaluated with checklists based on these characters and not a single one can meet the expectations of the fictional world of perfection.

While I can speak from experience and have witnessed myself and close friends become sadly infatuated with fictional characters, this is a genuine issue in women’s health and psychologicaly. I now laugh off my previous crushes on fictional characters and call myself foolish, but the truth is they felt just as powerful—more powerful yet—than real crushes.

Studies have shown that what may start as a loving passion for a character can evolve into an unhealthy obsession, just as any real relationship or crush. Mary-Lou Galician, a mass media researcher, examined the issue in her book Research and Theories of Mass Media Effects on Individuals and Society.

She argues that such infatuation with fictional characters can cause “emotionally disabling attachments filled with anxiety, fantasy and over-dependence.” Unfortunately, being in love with a fictional character makes it difficult to establish a successful relationship with someone who is not that character and cannot possibly compare with a fictional character. It is even more difficult to fall in love in the first place with a real person while you are in love with an imaginary—but real to

18 • the talon

you—perfect man.

Whether it is a character in a movie, book, or TV show, the human mind seems to have no notion of what is real, credible love and what is superficial, fairytale love. Regardless of their conscious awareness that they are reading a novel or watching a fictional film, an unconscious desire for that world is what seems to overpower many women in particular.

Ironically, it cannot even be said that these characters are all “perfect.” In fact, they are usually quite dysfunctional and utterly flawed. Even so, many women fall deeply in love with them. It is natural, to fall in love with happy endings, where the fictional world grips the female mind. It seems that these women are willing to go through rough patches and unimaginable conflicts in Julia Greenwald order to reach that happy ending.

No matter how flawed or messed up the characters’ lives are, a novel or movie’s plot can easily make them seem like heroes. In a romantic work of fiction, characters reach a point where they solve their relationships and prove that love can survive anything, and then the story is over before anything else can go wrong. Women then hold onto that happy ending, mix it with the thought of an attractive character that does not exist, and allow their imagination to go beyond measures to make fiction as tangible as humanly possible.

Yet, to our disappointment, regardless of how seemingly tangible fiction is made, it is still fiction. Many women admit to actually creating imaginary relationships with these characters and consequently become depressed when they realize it is still pure imagination. Galician calls this a “false love syndrome” in her work, describing it as “an illusion so powerful that it becomes different to imagine a more realistic kind of love.”

So where should we readers and viewers draw the line?

When is it okay to be infatuated with a non-existent character and when does it become something that impairs us from appreciating real people and drowns us in issues such as depression? There may not really be a distinct place to draw the line.

The safest thing is to be cautious of the grip of fantasy. It is unfortunate, though, that we cannot let our imagination loose because of someone else’s ability to make their own fantasy so vivid and appealing. Their success requires our self-control.

features

Your Education

For prestige or self-improvement?

Ho Jun Yang

I

been, trained to succeed academically? Isn’t it strange that n our globalized world, competition starts at a very young with all the time spent stressing over how to get into college age. Often encouraged by their parents, children start havby studying incessantly for standardized tests, school grades, ing to vie for places in prestigious schools at young stages in traveling to visit campuses and revising every word in their life when they could care less. Top-paying employers tend to admission essay, these students end up failing when reaching only hire people with top degrees from the best schools. To their destination? Vincent Tinto, chair of the Higher Education be accepted at a renowned university, it is necessary to have Program at Syracuse University in New York, and the author of had a successful high school education. In order to have been Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student accepted in that high school, it is necessary to have been well Attrition has an answer: “A large number of students are illeducated in a good middle school, and before that, elementary equipped for the challenges of college.” He school. explains that these students have spent so With the future of their much time preparing to get into college that children in mind, parents are not they have forgotten to focus on other factors afraid to push two or three yearof the college life. olds to reach beyond their potenAs a 2002 article from Careers and tials. As a response, schools deColleges points out, one problem is that velop rigorous curricula to fit these college students are unsure of their majors. needs, leading to bigger stress Understanding that it is difficult to know a problems for children. Nowadays, life direction as a teenager, many students even at ages as young as ten years feel pressured into picking a major just for old it is possible to see “burnouts” college. “I had no idea what I wanted to do (people who exhaust their minds with my life, I just knew I wanted out of through over work) which may lead Connecticut,” says Jesse Barber, a former to permanent psychological scars. uwecareerservices.com student at University of Wisconsin in Madison.

While parents may witness the nega“I decided to major in sports communication. To be honest, I tive impact of rigorous academics at a young age, they often wasn’t even sure what that meant—but I liked sports so how argue that it’s not as appalling as failing to achieve academic hard could it be?” Unfortunately, Jesse Miller ended up transexcellence and thus potentially a lack of career success. ferring to another school after his freshman year because he The irony is there is no evidence that intensive had no interest in his field “It wasn’t a good fit, and my grades academic pressure at any age will produce long-term gains in indicated that.” school. What actually results is a problem where children are Barber is no exception seeing as many students feel today hardwired into becoming mechanical thinkers that are as if they need to choose a major when applying to college trained to give the expected answer and lose their creativity. and end up having to change their choice. As Mark Cannon, By overemphasizing the importance of academia opposed to the deputy executive director for the National Association other aspects of life, there are lasting effects. Besides “burnfor College Admission Counseling, says “Dabble in a variety out,” children may become underachievers and start displayof subjects, see which ones pique your interest, And while ing delinquent behavior, or, they may suffer from mental or you’re narrowing your search, be proactive and interview emotional disorders. Often, this incessant competition leads faculty members and upperclassmen. When the time comes to a lack of social skills. to decide on a major, you’ll feel more confident that you’ve Problems can be seen as well at colleges where, acfound a good fit.” Students shouldn’t pursue an education for cording to American College Testing (ACT), one in every four the sake of entering into prestigious universities, but for the students drops out before completing the sophomore year. sake of self-improvement. They should not be forced but rather In addition, as many as half of all freshmen end up dropping be able to discover and delve into what they truly like. out of college before getting their degrees. How could these statistics be so high when many high school students have

the talon • 19

features

World Cup Passion “Celebration, it surrounds us, every nation, all around us” Melissa Fiszner

B

orn and raised as the first daughter, I grew up surrounded by Barbies, princesses, and pink. Seeing as my biggest worries included learning how to put on makeup and being able to walk in high heels, I never paid much attention to the world of soccer.

However, this year I became intrigued by the 2010 World Cup, realizing soccer is much more than just a sport: it is a passion.

Months before the actual Cup begins, we are able to perceive definite changes within our society. Even looking at our relatively small Graded community we can sense the nerves, anxiety, and excitement students and faculty carry as their countries are about to be represented. More interesting is the combination of patriotism and world unity that arises as students strive to complete

their figurinhas soccer albums that enclude all the teams and at the same time makes clear who they’ll be cheering for.

It is also very striking to see the changes that occur in one’s country of residence in when it is that country’s turn to play. In Brazil, newspapers report lists of all the shopping malls and stores that will be closed during World Cup games. Hair salons are open before and after a Brazilian game. Companies allow, and even encourage, workers to stay home with the implication that Brazil playing is as important as a feriado. Restaurants and bars are crowded with fans of all ages in a conglomeration of green and yellow. As a resident, I had to make sure I would not go out right before or after a game because of the predicted traffic; scheduling a trip was out of question because taxis would never be available. But even beyond these trivial changes come the changes within the population. The World Cup means getting together with family and friends and decorating the house in patriotic colors; the general atmosphere becomes one of enjoyment and passion to such an extent that when Brazil lost against Holland, the streets in São Paulo became unbearably quiet.

20 • the talon

All countries experience severe transformations, but these are even more significant in the one country that hosts this magnificent event, this year South Africa. Stephen Mitchell, Managing Director for Consumers of Nielsen Indonesia, maintained that the general excitement aroused from the event would positively influence the country politically, economically, socially, and culturally. He claimed that nations would forget about their problems in the midst of this exciting event, thus creating a supportive ambiance. Moreover, it was shown that by hosting the 2010 World Cup, South Africa experienced a tremendous economic boost, profiting from the construction of hotels and stadiums, as well as from the massive numbers of tourists that visited the country. Thus, South Africa was granted a higher status, arguably, than it ever had before.

Such, or even greater, are the predicted changes for Brazil when it hosts the Cup in 2014.

Brazil is predicted to experience an economic boost that will aggregate R$183.2 billion to the economy from 2010 to 2019, according to the Minister of Sports of Braworldcupblog.org zil. Although the country will have to invest in reforming and building new stadiums, urban mobility, ports and airports, telecommunications, health, and tourism, Brazil will experience such a tremendous growth that the process should create 710,000 jobs.

But the changes inspired by the World Cup go beyond statistics. Brazil is a five-time World Cup winner known as ‘o pais do futebol’ and recognized for its enthusiastic and patriotic population. Brazilian president Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva said, “Soccer is more than a sport for us; it’s a national passion.” This was clearly reflected when celebrations broke out once it was announced that Brazil would be the one to hold the upcoming Cup. In Rio, 100 people stood at the foot of the Christ statue holding a green and yellow banner that read, “The 2014 World Cup is ours.” If the country becomes a green and yellow mirage every four years, imagine the vision when in 2014 it will be hosting the event.

So, now that my Barbies are well stored in a box, and although I will be firmly cheering for Argentina, I must say that I’m hoping I will be in Brazil in 2014.

features

Passion = Stalking?

Yes, No, Maybe Gini Chi

T

he FBI has recently investigated a stalking case whose victim was none other than Sandra Bullock, the 2010 Oscarwinning actress for the Best Female Leading Role. According to the National Enquirer, Bullock has been continually stalked by a 41-year-old man named Thomas James Weldon since 2003.

Although Los Angeles Superior Court barred him from contacting or coming within 100 meters of Bullock, Weldon kept calling and even threatening that he would kidnap and kill both Bullock and her adopted son, Louis.

Although Weldon had previously been diagnosed as mentally ill, when asked about the motivation behind his deed, his answer was simple: “Because I loved her.”

According to the definition of stalking, Weldon is undoubtedly guilty. He followed Bullock for seven years, threatened her, and caused fear of death in her and her son.

Of course, to be stalked is no pleasant experience. Who would want to be under constant watch by an elusive eye and unable to escape from an undesired spotlight?

But think about it from the stalker’s position: is stalking necessarily a crime?

For example, hear my personal account. When I was 13 or 14, I had a crush on a boy in my 7th grade class. Whenever he was playing soccer with his friends during lunch, I would always quietly sit on nearby bench and watch him play. He was quite popular in school, and several other girls seemed to be infatuated with him as well. Among all of his secret admirers, I wanted to do something special for him. So I asked one of my friends when the boy’s birthday was, bought a shirt for him, and secretly put it in his bag as a birthday gift.

In a sense, what I did could be considered as stalking.

I repeatedly followed him to some degree and gave him a present when he did not ask for it.

But listen to what I have to say (and do not take this as an excuse — if you think that I was being

a stalker, that is fine with me). Although this is a really trite idea, back then all I could think of was that I wanted to do something special for my crush. And he did not seem to think of or dislike the fact that he was “being stalked,” since he wore his birthday gift shirt quite frequently. Maybe it was because I gave him only a shirt and did not freak him out with incessant presents. But what matters is that he did not consider what I did as stalking.

When a person (an admirer) develops a passion for someone (an admired), he or she will naturally think earnestly about his or her love interest. The admirer will wander around and hope that he or she can do something for the admired. This is very obvious, but it is nevertheless in human nature.

So stalking can be viewed as a form of passion, just expressed in extreme ways. When the admirer is rejected by the admired, he or she can sometimes become frustrated or even vindictive of his or her callous crush. In Sandra Bullock’s case, Weldon was revealing such a state by threatening her with kidnapping and homicide.

Of course, the heartbreaking admired would consider himself Julia Greenwald or herself as reasonable. It would naturally be uncomfortable to receive attention from someone whom one has no interest in whatsoever. Also, it must not be forgotten that disturbing protest against rejection—such as relentless calling and threats—can be counted as crime.

Confused? My point is that the line dividing passion and stalking is different for each person. For the admirer, stalking is a passion and a way to express his feelings. For the admired, it is an uncomfortable attention. Although laws around the world hold stalking as a form of crime, at its core it is quite difficult to differentiate from passion. They are closely related.

To wrap up, let’s talk about Weldon one last time.

Threatening Bullock? He went too far. Stalking her for seven years? Let’s at least recognize it originated in passion.

the talon • 21

features

Behind the Scenes of Facebook How much do you know about your guilty pleasure?

Julia Wu

F

acebook,as if any of you don’t know, is the largest social network in the universe. It is the portal where you can stalk your ex, share pictures with the world, intrude in other people’s lives and welcome others to intrude in yours. Many of us log in on a daily basis, and on average, there are about 40 million status updates each day. Regardless of whether or not you have FAD (Facebook Addiction Disorder), the story behind this dominant social network is certainly worth acknowledging.

The inception of this phenomenal social network dates back to 2003. As a sophomore studying psychology at Harvard, Mark Zuckerberg was just attempting to get over the girl who dumped him when he hacked into Harvard’s “secure” computer network to steal his dorm’s student ID images. He then uploaded the pictures he considered horrendous to Facemash, a website he created where two pictures are put side by side for users to rate. Since this network of familiar faces and real identities was fresh to Harvard, the website drew about 450 visitors in its first few hours online. Facemash’s mix of web identity and connection paved way to the ultimate birth of Facebook.

However, during the early developmental stages of Facebook, Zuckerberg suffered some setbacks. As the Facemash website expanded to other campuses, the Harvard administration took a stand and shut it down. The reason behind the shutdown should not be hard to figure out: if that ID picture that mortifies you is suddenly online and open for comments and judgment, the perpetrator of this atrocity must immediately be charged with violation of copyrights, privacy, and image, right? And this was exactly what befell Zuckerberg. But later on, this clever collegian managed to avoid charges by further experimentation and additional broadcasting of his idea. For his Art History final, Zuckerberg established an impressive social study tool online where hundreds of Augustan pictures could be commented on and discussed. The astounded professor claimed that this project received the best grades he had ever given, which flattered Zuckerberg and encouraged him to keep working on his goal of making Harvard more open and connected.

As the Facemash incident went public at Harvard, Zuckerberg became even more enthused to create a better social network. In January of 2004, he began to code for a new website. Zuckerberg didn’t know about programming and building web pages, but with help from his friend Dustin Moskovitz, Thefacebook (www.thefacebook.com) was lauched on Februrary 4th. After finishing up the website, Dustin aided Zuckerberg in broadcasting the link by sending it to their dorm’s

22 • the talon

mailing list, which consisted of some 300 people. Soon, a few dozen users accessed Thefacebook, while spreading the word to their friends about this new social network. Within a day, about a thousand people had signed up. Within the first month, nearly half of Harvard’s student body owned accounts on the website. Soon, a few colleagues, including Dustin Moskovitz, joined Mark Zuckerberg in the business. A month later, the network expanded to various prestigious campuses, including Stanford, Columbia and Yale. Rapidly, many universities in North America became involved in this virtual connection.

But how and when did this restricted social network become open like it is today? In the summer of 2004, entrepreneur Sean Parker advised Zuckerberg and his classmates to go public with Facebook. The Facebook team then established its headquarters in Palo Alto, California, and received its first investment of $500,000 from Paypal cofounder Peter Thiel.

The company removed “The” from its name and purchased the domain name Facebook.com for $200,000 in 2005. The next expansion arrived when Zuckerberg opened the Facebook network to all high schools (not just universities) in September of 2005. Soon, some companies including Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corporation also received access to the network. The step that finally brought Facebook to the world was taken on September 26 of 2006, when anyone above age 13 with a legal e-mail address could sign up. Two years later, the Facebook team inaugurated its international headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. However, Zuckerberg, who had become CEO, operates today in California.

Facebook achieved a peak during the years 2009-2010— it now has about 300 million active users. In some countries, Facebook access even outnumbers Google’s, the famous search engine. It has achieved rapid success in numerous regions, including the USA, Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Vietnam. During its growth process, Facebook also received colossal purchase offers of about $750 million from Viacom as well as $1 billion from Yahoo. However, as Zuckerberg claims, Facebook doesn’t plan on selling itself. Thus, huge companies like Microsoft and Google began to purchase portions of the company. Microsoft purchased nearly a 2% share of preferred stock with nearly $240 million, leaving Facebook with an estimated value of $15 billion. So, ironically, what started as a silly joke from a broken-hearted boy, made him into the youngest billionaire in the world.

features

Passion, Change, and Growth My summer in Israel Melanie Vladimirschi

W

hat in the world am I doing here?” I thought to myself, as dirt, leaves, and insects crawled their ways into my tangled hair. Sheltering me was a ragged old tent, which I had pitched with rope, metal poles, and rocks a few hours earlier. I heard nothing but the wind hushing past my new home, as I lay down on the ground trying to sleep. I had just walked two hours with 120 strangers through the Massa (Hebrew for journey), a mandatory soldier hike. Exhaustion seized my recently exercised muscles, and I really didn’t understand what had been going on in my head when I chose to spend one month in Israel, including one week training for the military in the Joara army base.

I had known I wanted to go to Israel ever since I was introduced to the Jewish religion. My family talked highly of the country and two of my cousins had lived there for a year.

Finally, about five months ago, I heard about a program called Tzofim Chetz V’Keshet, whose objective is to integrate teenage Americans with teenage Israelis. All the counselors are trained soldiers, and after training students for a week, they tour with them from the North to the South of Israel. I was faced with a challenge: did I really want to go alone for the first time to an unknown country where everything was new: the people, the language, the place, the food, the culture?

“Mom, Dad, I think I’m going,” I said reluctantly.

“Are you sure this is something you want? We are not forcing you to go on this trip at all, although we believe you will have an amazing time,” they said.

My decision, fortunately, was to go. I relished the opportunity of staying so far away from home with new people, especially considering I would embark on a similar adventure (a.k.a. college) in a year. I had spent two summers doing precollege programs already, and I was looking for something new, a unique experience that would expose me to a world I could not even imagine.

The change in environment hit me immediately; in one day, my pink flats were replaced by camouflaged combat boots. My hands, instead of holding the newest Blackberry, were charged with the responsibility of handling the ubiquitous rifle of the Israeli Defense Force: the M-16. Being on my own was particularly tough, and in the beginning, I thought I would not

make it through the month. I missed my family, my friends, and my country. Yet, there was something about the Israeli spirit that kept me grounded. Not only were the people extremely friendly, but also the feeling of belonging in such an incredible country made me want to stay even more.

Homesickness gradually crept away, and I started to enjoy everything about my trip. Our days were packed with activities, which challenged us physically and mentally. During the nights, we journeyed through different youth hostels around Israel, which although fairly uninviting, were a big improvement over sleeping on dirt terrain under a tent. We rode camels in the South, spent a night in the desert making s’mores by a bonfire, ate falafel with hummus at the Tel Aviv seaport, and rappelled down a cliff while admiring a stunning sunset. Even though the heat was almost unbearable, we survived by drinking at least three liters of water a day and dancing to Israeli music on the bus. My new friendships (which seemed like they were developed over the course of years) made the whole All photographs by Melanie V. visit wonderful as well.

Chetz V’Keshet is not just a tour or a promotional camp to endorse Israel in adolescents’ lives.

Rather, it is an opportunity for a truly life-changing experience.

After five weeks, I definitely feel like I matured. I conquered fears, learned to be resistant, and defied notions of my fragility. This unique trip left me with no choice but to walk away as a stronger person with an everlasting passion for Israel and its inhabitants. Most importantly, though, I walked away with the feeling of truly having a home, of having bonded with people my age who have a similar background as mine, as well as having had the most incredible summer of my life.

the talon • 23

entertainment

Dramaholics Addicted to having something to worry about Luiza Justus

I

don’t know which one I like more,” said Sophie, as I gave her

it had started to drive her insane. Sally had always been the

a disapproving look. “Honestly!”

opposite of Sophie. Instead of having several men in her life,

It was a snowy afternoon in New York, and we were

Sally usually had none. She had a few relationships, all of which

sipping our lattes at our local coffee shop. Winter was my

ended badly, but other than that she never seemed to have any

favorite time of year; for some reason everyone seemed to be

type of intimacy with anyone other than us.

more relaxed, except, of course, for my two best friends.

“Why is Sally always late?” I said, looking at the door.

As the two of them blabbed on with each other about their dramas, I stood up and went outside. That day I was not

People walked in periodi-

in the mood to listen to them.

cally but they never were

My hands were freezing, but

Sally. I was starting to worry

I did not mind. I thought of

about the time because I

Sophie and Sally and how

could not let our monthly

they were never satisfied.

coffee reunions make me

Sophie had too much drama

late for work.

and Sally had none at all, and

“Just focus for a

I am absolutely sure that even

second!” Sophie drew my

if they did manage to find a

attention back, telling me

balance, they would still feel

the rest of her current

unfulfilled.

drama. Her love life had

I thought about how people

always been complicated;

seek drama. We worry about

ever since I could remem-

being too stressed out and

ber, she has juggled two or

Julia Greenwald about having too many things

three boys at the same time. These things just seemed to hap-

to think about; however, we do not want to be stuck with noth-

pen to her, for she never looked for love; it just followed her

ing to think about at all. I may cry, suffer, and make a scene

around. However, she always found herself in ghastly messes

because of an incident in my love life that can keep my mind

involving all kinds of men: married, single, those with ambigu-

busy for weeks, but if there were no incident at all, my mind

ous sexuality, you name it.

would be longing for something to think about, to worry about,

This time there were three. Sophie desperately wanted

to look forward to. Drama is entertainment for the mind; it

Henry, who obviously did not want her, while still trying to end

is what gives our lives some seasoning. It pulls us away from

things with the very persistent Jake, whose older cousin, Dean,

quotidian matters and lets our thoughts venture into a world

had been Sophie’s boyfriend in high school and was starting to

of daydreaming.

show up in her life again. Her mind was made up about Jealous

I walked back into the coffee shop. Sophie and Sally

Jake, but she was still deciding whether to fight for Henry or

were extremes, each driving herself crazy due to the excessive

have a high-school flashback with Dean.

drama, or lack of it. Yet I realized that there is a Sophie and a

“I’m here! Sorry I’m late,” Sally sat next to us and took off her gloves and hat. “What did I miss?”

“More of Sophie’s drama,” I said. I felt Sophie’s eyes on me but I pretended not to notice.

Sally inside each of us. It is nearly impossible to find a perfect balance. If there is too much to worry about, our minds get overloaded. If there is too little to worry about, life gets boring.

Perhaps we are hard-wired to want the thrill, the tingle that

Sally excitedly exclaimed that she also wanted to know

comes with being passionate about something or someone. If

what was going on, but Sophie quickly changed the subject and

we have passion, we are bound to be dramatic about it, even

asked Sally what was new in her life. She went on to explain

if we do not express it. Humans are dramaholics by nature,

that there was actually nothing new, and life was so boring

each one with a Sally and a Sophie trapped within.

24 • the talon

entertainment

Music, Art, and Sustainability SWU Music and Art Festival brings combines entertainment with awareness Olivia Dupasquier

A

bout a year ago, rumors of a possible “Brazilian Woodstock” began circling the internet through music blogs and other websites. Though the event was confirmed, it was decided that it would not be a Woodstock remake, but rather a festival whose focus would be much more than music. A few months ago bands began publicly confirming that they were in fact coming to Brazil to participate in this much-awaited music festival. SWU - Starts with You Music and Arts Festival is Brazil’s version of Woodstock come to life, and even though it is not directly connected to the event at Yasgur’s farm, it still can be considered a celebration of the legendary festival’s fortieth anniversary.

The original festival was legendary. Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a three-day festival that took place in August 1969, a result of the initiative of Michael Lang, John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, and Artie Kornfeld. Originally meant to take place in Woodstock, New York, the festival was relocated to the small town of Bethel due to protests from residents. Though it was envisioned as a small event, about half a million people attended the festival, which is remembered today as the iconic image of the hippy movement that exemplified the late 60s and early 70s.

Forty years later and a continent away, SWU is in development. According to the event’s website, SWU is a festival that plans to combine music and art in a single event. It will take place on October 9-11 in the Fazenda Maeda, in the small town of Itu (around 70 km from São Paulo). Organizers expect that around 300,000 people will attend over the course of three days. However, SWU intends on doing so much more for its audience than simply provide good music. It is a movement in which the goal is to show and educate the younger generation on the importance of sustainability in the 21st century. Fórum Sustentável, one of the event’s attractions, will have a stage where specialists, thinkers, businessmen and representatives of NGOs will get a chance to educate people on the importance of this topic. With an attempt to get people interested in being a

part of this movement, the festival will explain to the audience how small, everyday actions can lead to a much better world, while showing them that change does in fact Start with You. But, of course, what most people are dying to know is what bands will be participating in the festival. On the first day, October 9, the bands Rage Against the Machine and Mutantes will be performing, and DJ’s The Twelves, Killer on the Dancefloor, Glocal and DJ Marky will be playing. On October 10, the performers Kings of Leon, Dave Matthews Band, Regina Spektor, Sublime with Rome (previously known as Sublime), Capital Inicial and Jota Quest will be playing.

DJ’s Markus Schulz, Roger Sanchez, Life is a Loop, Nick Warren, Sander Kleinenberg, Mario Fischetti and video.tvguide.com Sharam will also perform on the second day. On October 11, he third and final day of the event, will feature the bands Linkin Park, Pixies, Avenged Sevenfold, Incubus and Cavalera Conspiracy, while the DJ’s of the night will be Gui Boratto, Anderson Noise and Erol Alkan.

The curator of the Arts portion of the festival is Eduardo Srur, an artist who began his career with painting and later expanded it to include various different forms of art.

His current production is characterized by actions criticizing social and art systems, loaded with irony and symbols of pop culture.

The event that has caused so much curiosity and enthusiasm is only weeks away. It has proven to be more than just a regular music festival, since it will attempt to educate people in the midst of providing them with entertainment. An incredibly honorable movement, SWU Festival is likely to live up to the excitement and expectations that it has generated among those with a passion for music. But more than that, it is proving that both music and art can help change lives and shape the future, while reminding us all that a better future starts with us.

the talon • 25

entertainment

Trivialities Some of us are passionate about useless information Luiza Justus

T

he first song that was sung in space was “Happy Birthday.”

Muhammad Ali has an IQ of 78.

•

Henry V invented the passport.

•

The Beatles planned to make a Lord of the Rings film.

•

The UK Tea Council found that drinking tea is good for your teeth.

•

When George W. Bush was 30 years old, he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.

•

Organized crime is estimated to account for 10% of the United States’ national income.

•

The shortest war on record was fought between Zanzibar and England in 1896. Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes.

Hollywood actors used to be paid to smoke.

•

The lion costume in the Wizard of Oz was made of the skins of real lions.

On eBay there is an average of $680 worth of transactions each second.

•

A woman will own an average of 111 handbags in her lifetime.

A man once sued his doctor because he survived his cancer longer than the doctor predicted.

•

In high school, Robin Williams was voted “Least Likely to Succeed.”

•

Super Mario was originally called Mr. Video.

•

The shortest recorded song is one second long.

•

In an average life span, a human walks around the Earth three times.

•

The chance of a plane crashing is 1 in 11 million.

•

The chance of being killed by space debris is 1 in 5 billion.

•

Barbie has had 125 careers since 1959.

•

The first calculator was invented in 1642.

•

Chickens can suffer from depression.

• • •

cameo playing Superman’s father.

•

Bees can detect explosives.

•

Humans are able to inflate balloons with their ears.

•

Any modern jet is capable of breaking the sound barrier.

•

The oldest movie director is 101 years old.

•

•

Around 42% of hay fever sufferers think they have a cold.

In ten minutes, a hurricane releases more energy than all the world’s nuclear weapons combined.

•

The original title for the Beatles song “Yesterday” was “Scrambled Eggs.”

•

If you toss a penny 10,000 times, it will not be heads 5,000 times, but more like 4,950. The heads picture weighs more, so it ends up on the bottom.

•

Hitler received a thousand pieces of fan mail each month.

•

Ancient Egyptians slept on pillows made of stone.

•

Rats can live longer without water than camels.

•

•

It snowed in the Sahara desert in 1979.

Obama was known as “O’Bomber” at high school for his skill at basketball.

•

Bees frighten elephants.

•

One gram of DNA holds more information than one trillion CDs.

•

Every 45 seconds, a house catches on fire in the United States.

•

Coconuts kill more people than sharks.

•

North Korea is not on Google Maps.

•

Kittens are born both blind and deaf.

•

Around 90% of pumpkins grown are not eaten.

•

The world’s smallest mammal is the bumblebee bat of Thailand, weighing less than a penny.

•

The Statue of Liberty used to be red.

•

Some chickens are half male and half female.

•

The average child will eat 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before graduating from high school.

•

Charles Dickens invented the word “boredom.”

•

In chess, there are 169,518,829,100,544,000,000,000, 000,000 ways to play the first ten moves.

•

The average American eats at McDonalds more than 1,800 times in a lifetime.

•

Plants think.

•

An albatross can sleep while flying.

•

Marlon Brando received $16 million for his 15-minute film

26 • the talon

Sources: www.learnsomethingeveryday.co.uk www.funfactz.com

entertainment

Calling All Freshies PGC Mud Pie Natalia Arenas & Julia Greenwald

W

e love food. We love to cook. We love to eat. PGC is a lot of different things, however, food is among its top priorities. But, freshmen, get ready to feast, A LOT. Get ready to learn some new recipes, and even slightly alter those you had before. And most of all, get ready to have fun! We don’t eat just to satisfy our stomachs and satisfy our bodies; we also eat to enhance our lives and the lives of others. Those of you who, like us, love food (and let’s face it—who doesn’t love food?) are invited to embark upon the greatest culinary adventure your taste buds will ever experience!

Prerequisites: · Be a Freshman. · Turn in your permission slip. · Clear your agendas from September 10-12.

Ingredients: · 16 PGC leaders · 109 Freshmen · 8 Groups · 1 Campground—Rainieri Directions: 1. Pick a large camp with many activities and a decent mudslide where you can mix in the ingredients.

2. Handpick a group of Seniors with leadership abilities who are willing to make complete fools out of themselves: · Add some aroma of Alex Felsberg, · Add a dash of Danielle Bryant, · Garnish in some Gabe Dias, · Mash up some Meli De La Paz, · Ice in some Isa Krell, · Frappe some Francisca Gomez, · Jell in a tad of Julia Greenwald, · Line with some Lewis McQuarrie,

Thomas Stephenson

Felipe Arenas

· Grind in some Gustavo Cabral, · Mix in some Melanie Vladimirschi, · Aerate some Ashton Kim, · Egg wash some Edu Estrada, · Neatly add some non-stick Naty Arenas, · Add some roasted Rotem Magal, · Layer in some Luiz Zilberknop, and · Add a bit of vinaigrette a la Vicky Menezes.

3. Add 109 differently prepared Freshmen.

4. Cultivate connections.

5. Add as much good humor as possible.

6. Add some openness to see your peers in a different way.

7. Add some cameras to record unforgettable memories.

8. Remove all technology and add complete immersion into team building.

9. Add in some discussions.

10. Add tons of enthusiasm and spirit.

11. Mix everything together as much as possible.

12. Leave the mixture at the camp for three days and see instant results.

13. Be prepared to alter the recipe according to your own PGC experience.

Results: · 8 groups that are united, with people who are open to one another and have learned from each other. · A Freshmen–Senior connection and a helpful transition into the High School. · What many consider the highlight of their Freshman year.

So get your appetites and your enthusiasm ready! Being a freshman has never been so cool. The PGC retreat is September 10-12. Bon appétit!

the talon • 27

entertainment

Breaking Down the Dream: Inception An idea is likely to take over the world... But you’re first Ashton Kim The world of dreams is an area of imagination and twisted reality that takes up a third of our lives. It is a subject that has been discussed for millennia, starting with the first butterfly dream of the 4th century Chinese philosopher Zhuāngzi, to the mind of Sigmund Freud, all the way to the scientists of today. Inside this world, our subconscious mind breaks its own limits and fills a new reality with our emotions, desires, and most importantly, our secrets, creating a new reality based on our own thoughts and ideas. This is the idea that Inception, the blockbuster of the summer of 2010, explores with an exhilarating style and a mind-rattling plot.

The movie takes place in the near future, where corporate espionage no longer takes place in reality, but the subconscious world of an individual’s dream. A device called the “Dream Machine” has allowed people to enter the dreams of others and thus unlock the secrets of the person’s mind. The movie’s protagonist, Dom Cobb, is a master of navigating the mind and has excelled in his profession despite a dark past. The movie rolls on as Cobb is given a mission that could turn his life around. With help from his colleagues, he must fulfill the task not of stealing, but inserting an idea into a man’s mind, a process called inception.

Like other films before it, Inception illustrates the subconscious world of the dream. However, it does not draw a fairytale wonderland or the grotesque images of a nightmare.

Inception holds a dream as an alternate reality based on our own world, only with impossible shifts in architecture and bending the laws of physics, shown in some scenes of notable cinematography.

The movie is restless, pulling the audience into its complicated world of confusion and imagination, and ends up leaving us inside it. It uses what audiences have experienced through their lives in reality and dreams to construct its own concepts and language. Over the course of the 148-minute film, director Christopher Nolan takes the audience on a journey along with the characters. The audience is no longer watching,

28 • the talon

but living the dream as much as the characters of the movie, sharing their conflicts and confusion as secrets unfold and plots unravel. Given that it is a Hollywood film, there are car chases, explosions, and combat to keep the viewers’ adrenalin flowing, with a fantastic combination of mind-boggling visual effects, and a soundtrack that adapts well to each scene. Each actor illustrates the complexities of his or her character, especially regarding DiCaprio’s exceptional portrayal of Cobb.

Most importantly, the movie emphasizes the mind and how it works.

The audience is awarded a fresh set of questions as each scene goes by, while internal and external conflicts that are impossible to tell apart arise in the characters. The visualization of ideas and imagination are key points to viewing the film, with lines challenging your mind. Even to the last second of the movie, the audience is led to question what has just happened, making Inception an inspiring film.

Nolan has once again succeeded in combining excitement with thinking. In Memento (2000), he did so with memory loss. Yet, his ideas are not dissimilar to the many films of the past that have set their mark in cinema history. Viewers papelpop.com who enjoy Inception and Memento would likely enjoy Alex Proyas’s Dark City (1998), a film concerning the shifting of reality and of the mind. The 1999 films eXistenZ and the famous Matrix will also challenge your mind. A look back at Memento would also show how well Nolan engages the audience by sparking questions.

Inception is a film that leaves its audience thinking about what they have just experienced. This goes to the extent that many fans have come to the conclusion that Nolan has commenced inception upon their minds. It also raises many questions about the science of sleep, philosophical questions concerning the human mind, and most importantly, the enormous, and perhaps even hazardous effects of a single idea that spreads faster than light itself. Easily the Matrix of this decade, Graded ToK and Philosophy class students are warned: prepare to hear about this movie for the rest of the year.

sports.

Freshies, Dare to be Passionate Varsity is more than just a sport Yana Ahlden here are special moments which any athlete dreams of: mak-

T

Even though varsity athletics are open to any high school

ing the final three-pointer for the first time in the season;

student, there seems to be a decreasing number of freshmen

scoring the winning penalty against the best opponent; bringing

joining the teams. Seniors, juniors, and sophomores seem a little

gold home. These are moments of fame. They are moments dur-

intimidating from far away, especially when they are playing the

ing which the athlete who manages to create them is the center

sport they love. But as any athlete will tell you, once you take

of attention. Yet, they are moments athletes tend to forget later

the time to get to know these students, they become like any

on in life. Like any other human, athletes have selective mem-

other. They’re also not that different from each other when it

ory: they only remember the moments in their career that, for

comes to their passion for what they are doing. Nor are they

whatever reason, meant something to them. Waking up at 6:30

different from any freshman. They just love the game.

a.m. for “G” meetings at Big

And playing a sport

4, jumping in a muddy pond

is something one never

to retrieve a basketball,

forgets. Sure, there are

becoming friends… these are

moments during the sea-

the moments Graded varstiy

son when you wished you

athletes remember.

would have just stayed

These are the mo-

away from the dream of

ments that make all the

being a varsity athlete.

conditioning and pain from

But these moments tend

the season seem worth it.

to last nothing more than

But it’s not only the moments

a split second, for you’re

of laughter, tears, and ridiculousness that change how

Julia Greenwald

athletes look back on their seasons. It’s the people that were there with them along the way: their teammates.

then back in the game, in the “zone”.

Being a freshman on

a varsity team is an experience unlike any other, because there’s

Every sport played at Graded is a team sport for a

only one year for it: that very first year of high school. In that

reason. There is no requirement to be an all-star, for the only

year, you’re the baby, the scapegoat, and the one everyone

the thing needed is passion and willpower. Sure it feels great

makes fun of. But you’re also the pet, the little one, the one

to be a starter and to score goals every game, but it feels even

everyone looks out for. Freshmen tend to change anyone who

better to begin a season not being able to shoot a basket and

plays by their side, because they have to fight harder to be where

finish it making a free throw. That’s the joy of Graded athlet-

they are. That’s why they have a tendency to be the most pas-

ics. Whether talented or not, players grow together throughout

sionate, though usually the least willing to show it.

the season. Some end up finally being able to head a ball, while

Show your passion. Play your sport. Be the underdog.

others perfect their penalty kicks. Sure; they represent differ-

Prove that you deserve to be a varsity athlete. And every time

ent levels of improvement, but, at the end of the day, they are

someone says you can’t because you’re too young, too small,

worth the same.

too slow, prove them wrong. In my freshman year, I was 13. The

Although the coaches play major roles in the improvement of each athlete, the people who make the biggest differ-

age limit for varsity sports is 15, but I played anyway. I asked for a chance, and I got it.

ence are the teammates, because they are the only ones who

And if times get tough think of why you are where you

really know what it’s like on the field or the court at that mo-

are and why you’re doing what you’re doing: “this is ten percent

ment. And even here it doesn’t matter who’s played her whole

luck, twenty percent skill, fifteen percent concentrated power

life and who’s never kicked a ball. Each player teaches the other

of will, five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain, and a hundred

different things, about the game and about life. And that’s what

percent reason to remember the name” (Fort Minor). Make

any athlete will remember: something a teammate said or did

people remember the freshman class of 2011.

that made a difference.

sports

“This Time for Africa”

The World Cup that went in a Rather Different Direction Isabella Zevallos

Y

ou might recognize the title of this article as part of Shakira’s World Cup-themed song, “Waka Waka.” As the song suggests, the World Cup brought people together to share a common love: not necessarily for Shakira, but for soccer.

FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) has brought the world together since 1934 to celebrate this love for the sport, bringing together 32 nations to compete for the golden trophy. In years past, Brazil has won five of these tournaments, Italy has won four, Germany three, Argentina two, England one, and France one.

The Setting South Africa, the host of this summer’s FIFA World Cup, is a country of much history and much beauty. The home of Nelson Mandela is known for its diversity in culture and languages, as well as for its abundant natural gifts. This once Dutch colony has eleven official languages, all of which are recognized by the constitution, including Afrikaans and South African English. The country is the first one in the entire African continent to host an event of this magnitude, and had to undertake many changes to be able to fulfill FIFA requirements. Although the South African team was eliminated in the first round, Africa seemed to come together as a whole to cheer for Ghana, who managed to go further in the tournament.

The Ball Jabulani. Said to be the most famous ball of all the World Cups and of all history. Why? For its immense controversy… and its catchy name, of course. “Jabulaniball.com” states that the name of the ball originates from the isiZulu language, and means “to celebrate.” There are eleven colors to the ball, which symbolize the eleven tribes of South Africa. The Jabulani was designed especially for the World Cup by Adidas, and differs immensely in terms of construction when compared to traditional soccer balls: whilst regular balls consist of thirtytwo hexagonal panels, this ball consists of only eight whole pieces. Many specialists identify this structure as the culprit for the controversy involving the ball—it makes the ball curve easily, thus causing many attackers to miss the goal, and many goalies to commit drastic mistakes.

On the day of the final, the look of this famous component to the field changed: the final match ball was made with a golden color scheme to match the trophy “and in homage to the City of Gold—Johannesburg—where the Final [was]

30 • the talon

held”(jabulaniball.com). Its name was not Jabulani anymore, but JO’bulani, also in reference to Johannesburg.

The Mascot Remember that leopard that kept appearing over and over again throughout the World Cup? That was Zakumi—the official 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa mascot. His name is a combination of “ZA”, which stands for “South Africa,” and “kumi,” which means “10” in many African languages.

The character, according to fifa.com, reveals a representative personality: “he symbolizes South Africa and the rest of the African continent through his self-confidence, pride, hospitality, social skills and warm-heartedness. [He] is a jolly, self-confident, adventurous, spontaneous, and actually quite shrewd little fellow. He loves to perform and always follows his instinct and intuition, yet sometimes has the tendency to exaggerate a bit. You will often find him fooling about and teasing people but not in a mean way. He is warm-hearted and caring, and wants to make as many friends as possible.

He loves to play football as it is a great way to connect with others and break down language barriers.”

The Stadia South Africa built or improved upon ten amazing advanced stadiums. The Green Point Stadium (“one of the most artistic football venues in South Africa”,) is situated in Cape Town. The Durban Stadium design “is characterized by two large archways which arc 100 meters above the stadium roof.”

The Ellis Park Stadium is located “at the center of Johannesburg, [and] was built in 1982”. Soccer City is also located in Johannesburg, being, for a long time “the only South African stadium”. The Free State Stadium is located in Mangaung/ Bloemfontein, and is home to “some of the country’s most fanatical group of supporters”. The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, in Port Elizabeth, was “the first dedicated football stadium in the city”. The Mbombela Stadium located in Nelspruit, was one of the newly-built stadiums for the World Cup. The Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane is “named after one of the renowned sons of the struggle and emancipation for South Africa against the apartheid regime, Peter Mokaba”.

The Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg is “named after the Bafokeng People who owned shares in the platinum mines in the area, and the Loftus Versfeld Stadium, located in Tshwane/Pretoria, “is amongst the most established stadiums in South Africa, built in 1906.”

sports

The Surprises This World Cup was filled with surprises and disappointments. For the first time ever, the final did not consist of one of the “Big Four” teams that have always played a part in it: Brazil, Argentina, Germany, and Italy. This time, Holland (which had been unbeaten throughout the entire World Cup), and Spain (which had always underachieved in the World Cup) were fighting in this match over the Cup that could give either team its first star. On the other hand, the United States, as well as Uruguay (which had, for some time, not been especially strong), went further than expected. France and Italy (both of which left in the first eliminative round), as well as Brazil and Argentina (which didn’t go as far as expected either), all disappointed their fans.

The Referees This World Cup was most definitely known for the most controversial referee calls ever. Some even say that the drastic mistakes they made could have cost many teams spots in the event further on. For example, during an Argentinean match against Mexico, Mexico was said to have the most ball possession and control of the game, until Tevez scored, although he was clearly offside. Afterwards, one could easily notice how the Mexican team was shaken and how its performance was affected by the illegal (though granted) goal. In the Uruguay versus Netherlands game, although the outcome was 3-2 for the Dutch, one of the Dutch goals was also clearly offside, which could have cost the Uruguayans a spot in the finals. As in these examples, the referees committed crucial mistakes, and many were lambasted by soccer fans.

The (Unlikely) Stars Do you remember Forlan, Puyol, Casillas, or Kuyt?

They were a few of the soccer stars that shined in this World Cup. Yet, anyone who followed the event thoroughly couldn’t help but notice three other, unexpected stars: Mick Jagger, Larissa Riquelme, and, of course, Paul the Octopus.

Although Mick Jagger is a natural paparazzi-magnet, during the international event he became known for a hidden talent: his incredible bad luck. Whenever he made an appearance at the games, whichever team he was cheering for lost—every single time. When he was rooting for the USA against Ghana’s team, the USA lost by a goal; when he went to watch the Germany – England game, cheering for the Brits, the Germans won by three points; when he went to cheer on Brazil for the quarter final against Holland, the Brazilians suffered a painful 2-1 defeat.

Larissa Riquelme grabbed the attention of men

throughout the globe as the “sexiest World Cup fan ever,” according to spike.com. The Paraguayan was the source of media distraction due to her looks and her proposal to walk around nude in Asunción if Paraguay won. Yet, even though Paraguay got eliminated before that, the woman who captivated the attention of World Cup fans decided to fulfill her promise anyways.

The most remarkable of all side-stars was, obviously, Paul. Paul was a fortune-teller—an octopus fortune-teller. The German cephalopod’s “status was earned by an unblemished run of eight successful predictions from the first round of group matches all the way through to the Final. The method by which Oberhausen Sea Life Centre’s most famous resident picked his winners was to eat a mussel from one of two containers, each adorned with the flags of the competing nations,” according to fifa.com. Despite his world wide popularity, after the octopus predicted that Argentina would lose against Germany, a famous Argentinean chef (Nicolas Bedorrou) posted an octopus recipe on the Internet. No, Paul was never fried; instead, this unlikely star graced the World Cup with a perfect set of predictions.

The Victorious Spain was the nation which had the pleasure to take the 2010 FIFA World Cup golden trophy home, as well as a first star now sewed to their shirts, and eternal glory. Holland, coming in second, was close to tasting this unique experience, but, like before, unfortunately lost when it most needed to win. Coming in third was Germany; fourth, Uruguay. Other awards were also handed out by the FIFA committee: Diego Forlan (Uruguay) won the Adidas Golden Ball Award; Thomas Muller (Germany) won the Adidas Golden Shoe/Boot Award; Iker Casillas (Spain) was the winner of the Adidas Golden Glove Award; the Spanish team won the Fair Play Award; Andres Iniesta (Spain) was the finals winner of Man of the Match; and Thomas Muller also won the Best Young Player Award.

The Future Although the South African World Cup of 2010 made its mark, now it is time to look towards the future. Yes, 2014 is going to be the year for the nation of Brazil to shine as the host of this international event. With Mano Menezes, ex-coach of Corinthians, as the new replacement for Dunga as the Brazilian team’s coach, many expect the hosting team to achieve their sixth star four years from now. Although concerns have risen about whether or not Brazil will be able to meet all the FIFA requirements before 2014, let’s all hope for the best. See you in 2014!

the talon • 31

sports

Os manos do Mano Os jogadores da seleição brasileira Fernando Lima

A

gora na seleção brasileira, Mano Menezes tem o difícil desafio de mesclar alguns bons jogadores da última Copa em meio à preparação para a Olimpíada de Londres, em 2012.

No primeiro artigo do ano, proponho-me a analisar a primeira convocação de Mano para o amistoso do último dia 10 de agosto, contra os Estados Unidos.

Goleiros: Victor – Uma das certezas do grupo. Ótimo goleiro que trabalhou com Mano no Grêmio.

Jefferson – Ótimo goleiro do Botafogo. Atravessando sua melhor fase na carreira, carrega o Fogão nas costas.

Renan – Muito bom goleiro do Avaí. Aposta para a Olimpíada.

Realidade no cenário nacional.

Laterais: Daniel Alves – Não vai bem na seleção desde a final da Copa América quando o Brasil sapecou 3x0 na Argentina. Jogando em sua posição original, é reserva de luxo para Maicon.

Rafael – Foi do Fluminense para o Manchester United aos 14 anos de idade. Tem tudo para ser o titular olímpico.

André Santos – Jogou bem com Mano no Corinthians, mas cho que não é jogador de seleção.

Marcelo – Ótimo lateral. Aos 19 anos saiu do Fluminense para o Real Madrid e se apossou da posição deixada por Roberto Carlos.

Tem potencial para se estabelecer não só para a Olimpíada, mas também para a Copa de 2014.

Zagueiros: David Luiz – Ótimo zagueiro que joga no Benfica. Para mim, só existem dois zagueiros melhores para o Brasil: Lúcio e Juan, por causa da experiência. Não ficaria surpreso em vê-lo na Copa de 2014 Thiago Silva – Após superar um problema pulmonar quando retornou do Dynamo Moscou, o zagueiro do Milan é o sucessor por direito de Lúcio e Juan. Possível titular em 2014.

Réver – Jogou bem sob a tutela de Mano no Grêmio. Não merece a vaga.

Henrique – Foi mal sob o comando de Dunga na seleção. Foi mal no Racing Santander e nem jogou no Barcelona, clube que possui seu passe. Não merece a vaga, mas se voltar aos seus tempos de Palmeiras, tem chance na seleção.

32 • the talon

Meio-Campistas: Jucilei – Carregou o piano do Corinthians ano passado e não jogou mais de 5 jogos esse ano. Está indo pelo crédito que tem com Mano.

Ederson – Não merece a convocação porque é reserva do Lyon, time de segundo escalão na Europa.

Ganso – Revelação do ano do futebol brasileiro. Se o Santos não tivesse perdido o gás, ele teria sido vendido para algum time da Ucrânia. Ainda bem que ainda temos esse belíssimo jogador em nossos gramados.

Ramires – Agora no Chelsea, tem potencial para ser um dos melhores meias do mundo na próxima temporada européia, porém, vai ser um reserva de luxo para Frank Lampard. Merecia ser titular na África do Sul. Hernanes – Fechado com a Lazio, se mantiver o mesmo nível, será o comandante do time em 2014.

Lucas – Um dos melhores volantes da Premier League, está no meu time de “alternativos” no FIFA. Tem tudo para ser titular em 2014.

Carlos Eduardo – Não causou muito furor em duas temporadas na Alemanha, porém, belíssimo coadjuvante para a seleção.

Sandro – Melhor volante na atualidade no campeonato brasileiro. Destruiu o São Paulo na Copa Libertadores.

Competindo por uma das vagas de titula na Copa de 2014.

Atacantes: Alexandre Pato – Se parar de sair com Ronaldinho Gaucho e voltar a ser o que era antes de sua lesão no final de 2009, tem tudo para ser o bola de ouro (premio da France Football para o artilheiro em campeonatos nacionais na Europa) em alguns anos.

Neymar – Convocado por causa do clamor nacional. Não convocá-lo seria um tiro no pé para Mano. Apesar de ser um craque em todos os sentidos da palavra, tem algumas atitudes imaturas em campo.

Robinho – Um dos únicos a se salvar da terrível eliminação na África e melhor jogador com a amarelinha nos últimos anos, precisa trabalhar muito para manter-se na Inglaterra e para conseguir uma vaga no Manchester City.

Diego Tardelli – O centro-avante em atividade no Brasil. Depois que se concentrou no futebol, não parou de fazer gols. Para mim, uma das realidades do grupo.