Ed. 83 - The New Thang

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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 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 2011-2012

About the Cover

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF: Andrea Estrada & Artur Renault LAYOUT EDITOR: Isabella Zevallos NEWS: Yana Ahlden (Editor), Courtney Villeneuve (Assistant Editor), Daniel Almeida, Mendel Schwarz FEATURES: Ho Jun Yang (Editor), Adam Hunt Fertig (Assistant Editor), Mariana Lepecki, Lucas Zuccolo

This cover was inspired by the joy that can be seen on people’s faces when something new is unveiled to them. Much like the first decade of the current century, the 1950s was a decade full of inventions and changes to society and the planet. At that time, print was the most important way of communicating with consumers, and images in advertisements were vivid.

These images have some really interesting artistic qualities, and I felt it would be appropriate to use them in a collage for this edition celebrating “the new thang.”

—Dani Reis

Next? Nerds!

ENTERTAINMENT: Julia Wu (Editor), Ines Gil (Assistant Editor), Kevin Bengtsson, Yasmin Della Nina SPORTS: Kyle Bissell (Editor), Kevin Wolfson (Assistant Editor), Andrea Ferreira, Rafa Rocha COLUMNISTS: Maria Alas, Carol Di Roberto, Julia Abreu BLOGGERS: Camille Saliba & Paty Kim COVER: Dani Reis PHOTOGRAPHER: Nicole Vladimirschi ▪ ▪ ▪ TEACHER ADVISORS: Josh Berg & Mary Pfeiffer PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE CONSULTANT: Maggie Moraes ▪ ▪ ▪ E-mail: talon@graded.br Blog: http://tal-on-line.blogspot.com

Behold above, one of our Nerds-in-Chief! His picture illustrates the theme for the next edition of The Talon: Nerds.

As always, we accept submissions from nerds and non-nerds, and you can write about any topic. Your piece could be about famous nerds in history, nerd romance, Revenge of the Nerds, or how to dress like a nerd. Or you could respond to one of these questions: What makes a nerd a nerd? Are nerds cool in their total disregard for coolness? Where does the word “nerd” come from anyway? Are nerds different from culture to culture, or does nerdiness transcend culture? What sports, hobbies or activies are nerdy, and why? What’s the nerdiest night or date you can imagine?

Article length should be around 800 words with an image (attach the JPEG), or 900 words without an image. Deadline for submissions is Monday, 10 October. Plenty of time to get your nerd on!

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

editors-in-chief

Ted and Barney A sociological debate in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother Artur Renault

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hen trying to think of an article to write with the “new thang” in mind, a quote from How I Met Your Mother kept coming to mind. It was one of Barney’s famous aphorisms:“New is always better.” Barney defends his point by saying that the excitement and beauty of the unknown makes new things better than old things. Ted disagrees. He says there are old things that are better than new things. Guns ‘N’ Roses’ “Paradise City,” for example, is better than “Chinese Democracy” and a bottle of 1920’s whisky is better than Uncle Joe’s Grape Scotch made three days ago.

This comical scene, while apparently irrelevant, says a lot about our society. Ted and Barney represent a classical clash of views. Ted represents the more reactionary view, one that tends to think that old things, for being more traditional and established, are better. This includes not only the views of older people, but also of people like the ever-more-mainstream hipsters. Barney is the more fashionable side, the one that adheres to whatever the “new thang” is. For ease, I will call these kinds of people “Barneys” and “Teds.”

In a music context, Teds listen to The Beatles, while Barneys listen to LMFAO. With movies, Teds are watching Stanley Kubrick and Barneys watch Inception. As for books, Teds read Shakespeare, while Barneys read Harry Potter.

But is there a right side? Can the quality of something be defined by its date of creation?

It seems not so—something can be good no matter when it was made. But there is logical reason to think otherwise.

Barneys would say that new creations base themselves off of old ones, incorporating their virtues and fixing their flaws.

Logically, then, they would end up being a better product than the original. Teds have an equally rational argument, though.

They would say that old things have stood the test of time—the fact that they are still remembered many years and many new inventions later shows that they are the best. New things simply corrupt the originals.

It seems like the modern media is dominated by Barneys. What else would explain that number 1 hits are always new releases? The electronics market depends on this. How often do you hear “I want an iPhone with a frontal camera, a faster processor, and a better operating system!?” Very very rarely. The more common variation is “I want the new iPhone!”

And people do their best to keep up with the new thang.

They buy new iPhones and iPods, new cars, new clothes, new houses, new stuff. Anybody who doesn’t is deemed unfashionable. Teds have to make it appear very obvious that their things are intentionally old. Having a 1950’s Bel Air looks vintage. Having a 2003 VW Golf just makes it look like you didn’t have money to buy a new one.

But these views don’t apply just to culture and fashion. They apply to things like politics, ethics, and the natural sciences too. In politics, it goes back to the debate about every revolution and uprising in the world: is the current system the best, or should we put a new one in?

Take the Middle East right now—revolutions are toppling old dictatorships, but some fear that this might put worse leaders into power.

Ethics and natural sciences go back to the science and philosophy versus religion debate. How many times have we seen that clash happen? It is essentially the clash between a Ted church and a Barney opponent. Christianity, for example, values the truths it has held ever since its inception two thousand years ago. For example, when Galileo proposed that the Earth was not the center of the universe, the church disagreed because Galileo’s ideas didn’t match its Teddish view. In that case, there was a very definite answer and Galileo was right.

And this kind of situation might seem distant—but consider the many debates the Church partakes in today. Evolution, gay marriage, abortion, stem cell research—all these relatively new go against Catholicism’s principles, yet the debate goes on.

So, how should we behave? Should we be Teds and hold on to our core values and to the established and traditional things? Or should we be Barneys, and embrace new ideas? Perhaps neither one is ideal. My opinion is: we need a balance.

Cultural releases shouldn’t be judged based on their dates, but on their qualities. And we shouldn’t throw away our core values, but we should still keep an open mind to new ideas.

Maybe Barneys and Teds can coexist.

I don’t think Barney and Ted knew they were touching on so many things when they had their short discussion. But they still sparked this article. Maybe Barney was right that the unknown is always beautiful and exciting. Not knowing things makes them truly legen—wait for it—.

Should we be Teds, or should we be Barneys?

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editors-in-chief

“We be Vandals”

Writing on desks is no longer considered inappropriate Andrea Estrada

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his is a formal apology for not doing justice to the new desks in our last edition, “Metamorphosis.” To refresh your memory, this Graded novelty was mentioned in “The Talon Top Ten” as reason number seven to be excited to be back in school—not only do they have footrests, are colorful, and are not wobbly, but there is also no more CLASS OF RANDOM 90’S YEAR written all over them, and no more profanity or gossip on them. Great stuff.

However, the new desk’s greatest attribute only came to our attention after the previous edition had been written. For those of you who have not yet discovered the secret: every desk is a miniature whiteboard. This may be old news to some of you, but it does not cease to amaze those who discovered this sometime around the second or third week of school. One student describes them as “a pleasant surprise” (though I would like to point out this is an understatement—his enthusiasm as he doodled on them was the embodiment of something much greater than a mere “pleasant surprise.”)

The answer to who discovered the desks’ additional function will probably remain unknown. It is a finding many students and teachers have made as they mistakenly slip a dry erase marker on its surface and realize no harm is done to the desk, or as perceptive individuals felt its surface and identified the resemblance to the surface of whiteboards.

Chemistry and Biology teacher Ms. Pool shares her epiphany with us: “I discovered it was a whiteboard in a meeting with other teachers. We sheepishly tried it out with a tiny dot on a corner of a desk just to see if it worked and wouldn’t ruin the desks.” As eager as she was to share her discovery with the rest of our community, she opted to wait around and give others the opportunity to savor the excitement of such an amusing unearthing on their own: “It is fun now to watch as kids discover it. It always involves a knowing student share the secret, followed by an onlooker’s ‘no way!’ and a nervous cringe as the student in the know goes to make that first bold, dry-erase mark and then, incredulous, they watch as it gets erased without a trace! (Although the red markers leave a little residue).”

Jokes aside though, teachers like Ms. Pool have not been slow to realize that these desks actually carry educational and environmental benefits. Ms. Pool points out some of the pros and cons to using these as educational tools: “Because the desks are so exciting for students I have started trying to use them for work during class but of course there are drawbacks. For one, you can only ‘capture’ your thoughts if you write everything again on paper or take a picture of your desk before you erase it.

Two: they are easily smudged, of course, so if you have anything on your desk or lean on it, there goes your work. Three: Once the secret is out it’s hard Andrea Estrada to get kids back. It’s like the forbidden fruit, now that they have a taste I find dry erase markers disappearing a lot more.”

Another perceived concern is doodling addictions or the replacement of texting, BBM-ing, or dare-I-say old-fashioned note passing in class. Ms. Pool expresses her worries: “In particular, I have some seniors in IB Bio who may or may not be editors of the Talon who find whiteboard desk art hard to resist.” (How naughty, I will look into this and get back to you, Ms. Pool.)

As for the eco-friendly alternative these offer, she describes its win-win benefits as follows: “I love that it’s another way to save paper and whenever we use them, kids seem more engaged because of the thrill of writing on a desk. I’m wondering when the thrill will be gone, but for now they’re still pretty fun and at least when the novelty wears off there will still be footrests.” Think of all the small in-class work assignments that you had to use scrap paper for or divide a loose-leaf in two so as not to waste paper. . .is it not wonderful that now you can simply do with writing on your desk?

“Writing on your desk”—that sounds to me like some sort of forbidden action, like something considered vandalism in our community. Not anymore though. Who needs laptops for interactive learning when you have whiteboard desks? So, I invite you: next time you’re in class (and your teacher has approved it) make a fleeting doodle with a dry erase marker, or suggest to your teacher that you have an activity that involves desk-writing. Fear no more, vandalize as you see fit.

the talon • 3

editors-in-chief

The Talon Top Ten New thangs Graded needs Artur Renault & Andrea Estrada 1. Air Conditioning Student satisfaction with Graded’s infrastructure declines near summer for one reason: very few of the school’s classrooms are air-conditioned. This makes learning impossible on Brazilian summer days. Trying to concentrate on learning about Stalin’s domestic policies or chemical reactions is very difficult when the air feels like blankets. Currently, classes usually have a fan that cools off a maximum of three privileged nearby students—but we all deserve cooler classrooms!

2. Coffee Graded’s considerable workload can lead students to lose many precious hours of sleep. Sleep-deprived IB students are not the nicest people around—they’re either lazy and sleepy or extremely stressed out. Luckily, a magical potion exists that can cure all forms of fatigue—it’s called coffee! It currently can be found at the distant snack bar for the absurd price of R$3. (Teachers get it free, though) Students also deserve the luxury. StuCo is now starting Coffee Wednesdays, which is a good start. We want caffeine!

3. A Better Computer System It seems as though the hamsters that run in wheels to power Graded’s servers are getting more and more tired—every computer in our labs seems to take over 30 minutes to start up.

This is extremely inconvenient when trying to print out an assignment right before class or check any quick information in the school’s computers. And it’s also annoying when Veracross or the Courseweb fail, and we are unable to access important coursework. In such a digital age, Graded deserves faster technology.

6. A Swimming Pool Much like the need for air conditioning, there seems to be a common desire for a swimming pool. Graded offers basketball, soccer, softball, volleyball, futsal, an equipped gym to work out, and—although no track or tennis teams—a couple of courts and a track for those who wish to take advantage of them. However, where is the swimming pool or swim team in the agonizing heat of summer? It’d be nice to have that extra athletic option, giving opportunities to people that otherwise we may not see as potential athletes 7. New Ceilings Few of us can forget last year’s incident in the B-wing when two classrooms’ ceilings buckled from the heavy tropical rains.

Funny, sure, but not pleasant or something to be proud of.

Not only are they falling apart, they have no sound resistance whatsoever. Trying to listen to a History lesson on a rainy day is like attempting to stop the rain. Those English A1 students who painted some ceiling tiles last year are well aware of how rotten our school’s roofs are and how no amount of paint will ever cover that up.

8. Easter Egg Hunt Graded has a Halloween Benefit Bash and a Thanksgiving lunch, but seems to have forgotten the poor Easter Bunny.

We’d appreciate a chocolate feast mid-second semester when stress levels are high as the equivalent of the candy-fest we get in the Benefit Bash. Who would not want to relive the childhood thrill of going on a treasure hunt, especially in such a big campus as ours? Chocolate eggs hiding in the senior lawn or in random unoccupied lockers—sounds like fun.

4. New Classes We’ve had pretty much the same classes for our entire life.

By now, we’re all bored with English, Math, Science and History. Sure, Graded has some fun classes like Art or Film, but we’re missing some. Where’s Breakdancing class? Or Naptime?

Or Videogame Appreciation? I’m sure many students would be interested. Homework would not be nearly as boring if it involved playing CoD or practicing “the worm.”

9. A Student Lounge Talk about a student lounge—particularly a senior lounge—is never old at Graded. High schools in movies have cool living rooms with couches and coffee where you can choose to study or relax. A pool table, bean bags, a TV—all are common characteristics of the famous student lounge that students dream about. Will we ever get the chance to stop dreaming and see this wish become our reality?

5. Fewer (or at least Different) Annotations We still find it hard to understand how the placement of one period adds meaning to a three-hundred-page book. Annotations may be ultimately productive, but looking for minute details detracts from the experience of enjoying a book for its plot and beauty. Maybe if we had different books? For instance, fans annotate Harry Potter in their daily lives—explaining connections between characters and symbolism in elements of the series. Either way, annotations demand a second thought.

10. Wednesdays Cut Even Shorter Class ending at 2:40 versus class ending at 3:10—what’s the big difference? Traffic will be relatively equal at these times and most students who do not take the bus won’t actually leave at 2:40—the lines to get picked up extend until 3:30 or later and those extra 30 minutes go down the drain. Plus, not having Flex cuts our lunch/study hall short. On the other hand, half-days we love. They actually make a difference, and teachers would surely appreciate the extra time as well.

Wednesdays becoming half-days? Like.

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point of view

“Let’s Go To Reebok Today” Work out and socialize in style Julia Abreu

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ome of São Paulo’s lazy ones have been awakened by the new gym fever. Although too many of us spend our days complaining about how much junk we eat, how fat we got over the summer, or how much homework impedes us from staying fit, now there’s no excuse. World-renowned Reebok has revolutionized the fitness industry, and is now “the new thang” amongst people of all ages here, especially teenagers.

More and more Graded students are becoming members of this gym, and it’s a new afterschool hangout spot.

What is so awesome about this place after all? Its location sure sets the standard for how every other gym should be.

Situated inside Cidade Jardim Mall (São Paulo’s finest designer mall), Reebok lives up to the shopping center’s standards. Once you find yourself inside this gym, it becomes a sort of second home. Stylish workout rooms, new equipment, fully outfitted locker rooms, and a deliciously healthy restaurant are at your disposal. The personal trainers and coaches are selected meticulously through a series of rigorous tests, which provides members with the best possible experience. Once a member, it is mandatory to schedule a consultation with the company’s doctors, who will guide your workout plan according to your goals.

You might be wondering what people actually do there to stay fit. There are adult, teen, and child programs. Some dynamic options like boxing, swimming, and muscle training affirm the male cool factor. Guys are often seen walking around expanding their chests and flashing the arm muscles for the female gender’s approval. Girls (a large part of them Graded girls) often enjoy the pumped-up Power Jump class. This class

new.reebokclub.com.br

is done on individual trampolines and different routines are exercised while bouncing away and burning up those unwanted calories. Girls love it because it makes their legs stronger and also because it is quite amusing to see who will get there faster before all the trampolines are claimed. Apart from that, there’s Circus, which is incredibly dynamic and exciting as it is simultaneously painful and difficult. These are only a few of many other workout options Reebok offers, and when friends are around to sweat alongside you, it is always more fun.

However, the best part, at least from the social pointof-view, is yet to come. What better place to gossip and flirt with fit young adults? The healthy restaurant, located right at the center of the gym, is the perfect spot for some energy refills and some yummy treats. Various options of fruit juices, coconut water from actual coconuts, delicious sandwiches, and a mouth-watering lunch buffet serve to complement the gym’s success. Teens love to just sit there for countless hours and chat away, while catching a glimpse of the cute boys and girls who walk by. For Graded students, it’s a central meeting point, and a great way to meet new people as well. Down the halls of our school, you might hear “Are you going to Reebok today?” and when the other person responds in favor, they will both yell “yay.” Friends will get super excited because they are all going to Reebok together, and I admit it is very cool to hang out there afterschool. In fact, it is so cool that people often schedule to go to Reebok on Fridays. Not only is it a way to burn off some calories, but also it is located one floor above the movie theater and two floors above the popular sushi restaurant, Kosushi. I mean, how much easier could it get? You work out for a while, then you go down the elevator and enjoy the mall’s relaxing vibe and all the other hangout spots it offers. No wonder teenagers are so into this whole fitness thang.

Yes, fitness has finally become fun for me, and I actually look forward to working out. A fabulous gym such as Reebok follows the principle that if it can’t be as pleasurable as just watching a movie or going out for ice cream, it has got to be better. Gyms have to bring out an extra wow factor in order to hook the new generation. With all the traffic and hustle of the big city, teens in São Paulo look forward to places like Reebok as a way of running away from those inconveniences and just working out while enjoying themselves and their friends’ companies. Gyms like Reebok shoot up a teenager’s self-esteem and are a healthy hangout spot. You might already find yourself caught up in the “Reebok fever,” and if not, it might be a good time to check the scene out.

the talon • 5

point of view

Growing Up Will Happen But remember Dr. Seuss, and 11:11

Maria Alas

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totally understand how cool it feels to tell your parents you’re going to dinner with the girls to a restaurant not situated inside a shopping mall; there, you swipe a credit card with your name on it (which might still be your parent’s money, but the account is still under your name). Instead of ordering fries as a side, you get steamed vegetables because your taste buds have simply evolved and now you like your greens more than fritura and dinner has ceased being chicken fingers. At dinner, the conversations are no longer about the crush you developed an hour after your three-week relationship with Danny ended (which was the longest one you’d had, so far). No, now the conversations are beginning to sound a little more like college supplements—no more teen magazine talk. After dinner, you might go out—or maybe you decide you need some rest after such a hard week, but a sleepover consisting of seven girls sleeping in mattresses on the floor is out of the question.

Obviously, during this time you’re not thinking: wow, it feels great to act old, because, most likely, you have been doing some growing up for a while; it’s been a process. That’s okay; in the end it’s simply life happening to us, and with the things we leave behind better things are found in the future.

I’m trying to come to terms with that, and I know too many of us have found ourselves pondering this lately—but I’ve also come to terms with the fact that being 18 doesn’t mean I can’t get excited over the new Winnie the Pooh movie. I needed to represent both needs symbolically somehow, so I could make tangible what this meant to me, I chose to do it with a birthday cake. The cake was inspired by Dr. Seuss’ book Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, which has 56 pages of wisdom. The reading level is from four to eight years old, but this book was not meant to be left behind in my boxes from 1997. If anything, it will lie besides the book on Roman Architecture decorating my first apartment.

The chocolaty cake goodness was covered in frosting that replicated the light-blue cover of the book that represented the possibilities of a new phase in my life. I was able to hold on to my Dr.-Seuss-loving self, a part of myself that sees the possibilities in continuing to hold onto my youth.

I recently stumbled upon the following quote: “Life

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is all about being young and pretending to be old, and being old and wishing you were young.” My only response to it was a simple “no,” because it’s basically telling me I am not and will not ever be content with my life. There’s really no reason for discontent; I am growing up and will be when it is appropriate, but I vow to carry the youthful moments I have left and relive them from time to time. I’ll jump into my parent’s bed and watch The Shining with them, and even if now I can comprehend King’s genius in that psychological horror film, I’ll still hold my parent’s hand at the scene of the bloody Grady twins. I chose to deny that quote’s relevance to my life and I’m making an effort not to spend michelemattia.com my time pretending to be old just to wish I was young later. I got my copy of Oh, the Places You’ll Go! off the shelf and my eyes lingered over these lines, whichI’m trying to embrace with every action I take: And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew.

Just go right along.

You’ll start happening, too.

With time and experience, growing up will happen; we’ll change, just like our taste buds. In fact, we’re changing now, evolving into the people we’ll become. But that doesn’t mean who we are at this stage isn’t important: do what you love doing now because you might not love it later, or you might not get to do it later.

Lately I’ve been practicing my sixth-grade habit of making a wish at 11:11. It’s comforting to give life to the youthful wishes I tucked away for quite a while; they had been forced to the back of my mind as new responsibilities surface every passing year. The responsibilities haven’t gone away, nor do I wish they were gone; I’m just glad 11:11’s aren’t mere numbers anymore. Not only do I have wishes for the future, but I’ve brought back simpler wishes that are making my start to “happening” more fun. Making wishes at 11:11, that’s my new thang.

Sources used in this article: www.weheartit.com

point of view

The Moodie Foodie “New thangs” in the world of food

Carolina di Roberto

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o, the new thang? There are so many things that are new to the world of food. Molecular gastronomy, cake pops, the cupcake fever, and Le Whif.

But I will start with cake pops because, after spending an entire year speaking and studying about molecular gastronomy for my Extended Essay and having written an article on cupcakes, I’m sick of writing about those. No worries though, I promise that right after writing about cake pops I’ll move on to le whif. I swear, it’s mind-blowing.

In case you do not know what cake pops are, I’ll go ahead and explain: cake pops are small cake balls mixed with frosting and placed on lollipop sticks. I’m not really a fan, but apparently the rest of the world is.

Every single cupcake shop and bakery in the U.S. has begun selling them and, as you may have noticed, Starbucks has as well. Starbucks sells them in pretty pink, chocolate brown, and pearly white colors. But interestingly enough, they don’t taste like we’d assume they would. The pink cake pop doesn’t taste like strawberries, the chocolate brown pop barely tastes like chocolate, and the white cake pop doesn’t taste like vanilla. They all sort of taste the same.

They all basically taste like sugar; I cannot put my finger on the flavor. It’s like the yellow cake batter that’s sold at supermarkets.

Anyways, they even have cake pops at parties and mixers now. Even at my summer program, we had an event called “How to Make Cake Pops.” I went, stayed for five minutes, and left. Teenagers running around throwing frosting at each other wasn’t extremely appealing to me. I don’t really see what all the fuss is about.

Sure, it’s an interesting idea: having cake as a lollipop—I know I wouldn’t have thought of that. But the cake, instead of tasting interesting, just tastes extremely sugary and bland. Pure sugar, nothing else. I’d rather just have a slice of cake, and scrape the frosting and crumbs off the plate (which is what I usually do), instead of having all the pieces conveniently fall into my

mouth with the help of the lollipop stick.

Honestly, I even prefer the lollipops that are flavored like cake.

I remember, when I was around six or seven years old my mom, my sister, and I used to go to the heavenly Bed, Bath, and Beyond almost every week. We would spend hours in the store picking out new things for our kitchen and house; I loved watching my mom choose things, because I remember knowing exactly when and where she would use them. Back to the story, though—after choosing new “home goods”, we would walk up to the register, and at every single one would be a tower of lollipops. I would either pick up the piña colada lollipop or the cake batter lollipop. Thinking back at unwrapping the cake batter lollipop and plopping it into my mouth, it tasted way better than the new type of cake pop.

So, as I’ve shared my highly critical opinion on cake pops, I think it’s only fair that I share my opinion on what I really enjoy. What am I not nearly as critical about? Le Whif. Le Whif is truly the best new creation out there. I’ve only found them at Dylan’s Candy Bar in New York City and every single time I go I buy at least ten of them. Le Whif is essentially a bar of chocolate stuffed into a puffer-esque tube.

I’m not going to lie; every time I “use” it, it looks a little strange, but it’s so worth it. Once you “inhale” the chocolate that’s been stuffed into the “puffer”, it tastes exactly like a chocolate bar. It’s just a a enfimnoiva.com breath of chocolaty air, placed into your mouth in a single puff. It’s truly a beautiful experience. I think I shed tears every single time I open up a new package of Le Whif. It comes in other flavors, like raspberry chocolate and chocolate cappuccino, but the best one of all is the pure dark chocolate. It tastes so fresh and so Swiss/Belgian/German!

Hopefully I’ve shown you some of my views on new foods out there. As with everything, there’s a bad side and a good side. Therefore, while cake pops don’t please me, Le Whif is there to satisfy my chocoholic side.

the talon • 7

point of view

The PGC Retreat A Freshie’s report Nabila Mourad

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hat exactly was the PGC retreat? It was not only an amazing experience to meet different people, but we also had the opportunity to learn more about ourselves and our peers.

Eighteen fun, creative and spectacular seniors took us to a place far beyond imaginable. They took the time and had the patience to plan creative activities and entertain seventy-eight freshies.

The activities incorporated elements of teamwork, communication and respect for our community and peers. The conversations, games, and experiences will all be cherished as we move on with our lives. We were able to open ourselves to share and listen to other people’s stories and journeys. There is so much to say about PGC, that what it brought to the freshmen class is really hard to put in words.

PGC welcomed us into high school; we no longer feel like outsiders, but part of the high school community. PGC went beyond our expectations. We learned how to think critically, use our creativity and imagination, but most importantly we had fun.

The retreat brought unity and a sense of togetherness to our grade. The diversity of the 9th graders was celebrated.

The retreat was helpful in many ways. First, we discovered the importance of communication. By doing tons of exciting activities and reflections we also understood the value of community: how we have to collaborate as a grade. Through the activities, games and conversations we discovered facts and similarities about people we never knew. But most importantly, the seniors were able to make us feel welcomed and part of something bigger than our grade, part of the high school community. This was a relief to most of 9th graders since we are about to face a totally different experience.

The groups formed trust and confidentiality. We feel safe and comfortable sharing and talking amongst ourselves.

We made jokes of our own, and shared secrets, memories and stories. One of the biggest themes of the retreat was how we

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was new friendships. There are people that we see occasionally in the halls, or people with whom we have classes, that we never talk to. This all changed in PGC; we stepped out of our comfort zone, made conversation and learned more about our peers. This is something that we will use throughout our school years; we will make new friendships and become closer as a group.

The retreat served several purposes, but the one I value the most is being able to communicate as a grade better, and being introduced to the high school.

All the sharing and reflecting, making new friendships and meeting new people started out way beAndrea Estrada fore we arrived in Raineiri.

We already knew each other better through activities that made us bond and will make for a friendly environment at school. I’ve never laughed as hard as I did during “baby I love you.”

Making new friendships continued as we entered the bus to head to the camp. We all were laughing, jokes were being told, stories were being shared; it was the start of a new bond.

Tired but eager to continue, we got off the bus and rushed into the camp. The activities started to pour in, and we all wanted to soak them up.

Why were we all so attached to this trip? Was it the activities? The energy of the seniors? Meeting new people? I really know what specific factor caused us to be so engaged in the retreat, but we all know how much fun it turned out to be.

How can we be thankful enough to the seniors for everything they planned for us? The time, commitment and the hard work that they put forward to make this the best weekend of our lives was truly astounding. The place was amazing, the fun was unforgettable, the laughter was memorable, and everything contributed to make it the best weekend ever.

PGC leaders, thank you for everything! I think I can speak for all freshies when I say we look forward to having PGC throughout the year.

news

Not as Bad as it May Seem Hurricane damage in the short and long run

Yana Ahlden

S

he was the first of her kind to show up in New Jersey since 1903. No wonder everyone was scared when her arrival was announced. Moving at 155 mph and with a pressure of 978 mbar, Irene was certainly a force to be reckoned with as she tore from the Gulf of Mexico towards the East Coast. As she moved, she killed 26 people and left behind around $40 billion in damages. That makes her part of a very exclusive group: top ten costliest natural disasters in American history.

What made Irene so dangerous was not necessarily the speed of her winds, but the rain that accompanied them. Relentless, it caused floods and blackouts in Irene’s wake. At first, it might seem like rain could not or should not be that big of a problem.

In the case of Philadelphia, the six or more inches of rain caused the collapse of seven buildings. If six inches aren’t enough to frighten someone, the fact that in some areas the water levels were 15 feet above normal should do the trick.

The rain, the winds, the destruction. Who’s going to pay? The United States currently finds itself in an economic crisis. As if the Obama administration needed any more problems to solve, it now has the repercussions of Irene’s visit on its plate as well. Apart from the already mentioned $40 billion, the government has to deal with the loss of two working days in one week for around 25% of the economy’s workers. That’s a lot of production lost. Considering the fact that the United States does not have that much money to spare at this moment, it could be concluded that hurricane was a devastating shock to the economy and could result in the worsening of the already severe crisis.

This, however, is only accurate in the short run, the next few months. Maybe even the next year. But after that, in the long run, the boost in private spending that will result could cause an increase in capital stock in the economy. Despite the fact that the American economy is currently suffering high unemployment and depletion of available resources, the construction industry will experience a significant boost postIrene. Now, victims in the private sector will end up rebuilding

their lives bigger and better than they were before. Obviously, not everyone affected by Irene will be able to do so, but those who are will produce a cash flow of at least $20 billion and thus jump-start the economy. These $20 billion will end up yielding an economic benefit of about $36 billion due to reconstruction, according to Peter Morici, who is a professor at the Smith School of Business and was a chief economist of the U.S. International Trade Commission.

But the rich will not be the only ones repairing the economy after Irene, even though their efforts will be the first to take place. Slowly but surely, normal consumer spending will return to the range of $10 billion to $12 billion. It is very possible that in two years, Hurricane Irene may not be the catastrophe it appears to be right now.

That may be easy to say for someone who is not directly involved and has simply watched the news and read the abcnews.com paper. But to those 2.3 million people that were evacuated, it may be very hard to explain that the disaster that destroyed practically everything they had could be positive in the long run. And to the families of those 28 dead, Irene was about as bad as it could get.

Even though there is an economically thriving future ahead for the United States, currently, they are faced with a disaster. According to authorities, the number of people whose livelihood is threatened by Irene is the biggest ever threatened by a single storm. It could be argued that current conditions will give them incentives to work harder and thus boost the economy, or that this experience will inspire individual initiatives to avoid such destruction in the future.

To an economist, Hurricane Irene could benefit the American economy in the long run and its aftermath is not as bleak as it may seem. On the other hand, people are suffering right now because of what is happening right now, and these people need help.

Sources used in this article: www.kansascity.com;www.economist.com; www.weather.com;topics.nytimes.com

the talon • 9

news

The Right Words Remembering an unforgettable day Courtney Villeneuve

O

ne of the usual criteria when commenting on a historical event is that the event occurred more than ten years ago, in order for proper historical context, information and resources to be available. Normally, this is not a challenge, because historical events are commonly seen as things that occurred when dinosaurs roamed the earth or our parents were in high school. However, September 11, 2011 marks the tenth anniversary of a bona-fide historical event. And we, as high school students, were alive for it.

Ten years ago, four planes never touched down to the runways they were supposed to land on. Instead, two found their targets in the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and one flew into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Ten years ago, around 3,000 people never went home to their loved ones after leaving for work that morning. Instead, their mourning friends and family had to cling to some desperate hope that out of the chaos, some good would arise and that lives had not vanished in vain.

On the tenth anniversary of an attack that has defined the United States in so many ways, solemn memorials and heartfelt speeches echoed across the country in honor of those who died that dark day, and those who had rushed into the burning buildings and crumbling structures, searching for survivors.

Thousands gathered at Ground Zero in New York City where the names of all those who perished were read and President Barack Obama spoke. Moments of silence were observed at 8:46 AM, when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower, and at 9:03 AM when United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower. All was not peaceful however, as a heightened security presence encircled the memorial, with bomb-sniffing dogs and x-ray machines making sure no incidents marred the sunny fall day. In Washington D.C. and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, ceremonies were also held to honor the fallen and remember the events of 2001.

Around the world, people gathered to remember and to pray for peace. In Madrid, Spain, several hundred people gathered to plant trees and hold a moment of silence. In Sydney, Australia, firefighters climbed to the top of the tallest building where they went silent to remember their fallen fellow emergency workers. In Manila, Philippines, a memorial was made in honor of the Filipino-American who perished in the attacks

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on the towers. The gatherings continued across the world, from England to Canada. American military bases also paused to reflect and remember. The psychological impact of the four planes was clearly greater than the physical damage, as prayers and tears flowed across the globe.

Those who survived to tell the tale are still bruised from the memories they carry abcnews.com around. Many members of the first-response teams have had to undergo therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder. Many others have physical debilities from the work they did on September 11 in the form of cancer from all of the dangerous substances released when the towers collapsed. Recently, articles have also begun to feature the children whose parents did not come home from work that day. Some of them were still unborn at the time of the catastrophe, and others were just small children. Their stories are haunting—ten year-old children with no memories of their mothers or fathers.

Out of all the tragedy, though, arose stories of personal sacrifice and love. Firefighters rushed into the burning and collapsing buildings, doing their jobs in risking their own lives. Passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 diverted the plane from its supposed target of the U.S. Capitol to a field in Pennsylvania. Husbands called their wives one last time to tell them that they loved them. Money was sent to the victims’ families by complete strangers, moved by the tragedy unfolding. People across the nation paused to pray. Memorials and flowers appeared all over, paying tribute to those who had lost their lives. The pain of the survivors and the friends and family of the deceased was slightly lessened by the outpouring of kindness from the world.

No matter what conspiracy theories, political agendas, or angry sentiments are brought to the table, the hard truth is that 2,977 people died on September 11 2011. Not everyone may agree with the actions taken by the United States after that tragic fall day, but the anniversary was not be a time to harbor negative feelings. Nothing can be done to get those lives back, and the words and tears shared cannot truly fix the loss of a brother, sister, husband, wife, or friend. Let’s remember those who lost their lives and respect their memories as we move forward.

Sources used in this article: www.cnn.com; www.nytimes.com

news

From Cameras to Sandwiches Grilled cheese gets technological

Daniel Almeida

W

hile the technology industry is shifting towards the tablet market and 3D, Jonathan Kaplan is applying his tech expertise to a completely different market: grilled-cheese sandwiches.

Yes, you read that correctly; the father of Flip Video cameras has recently opened “The Melt,” the first of a chain of high-class grilled-cheese restaurants, in the trendy San Francisco neighborhood South of Market.

Kaplan managed to talk Sequoia Capital—a venturecapital firm with a vast portfolio, including Apple and Google— into backing his grilled-cheese enterprise. Kaplan plans to open a handful of Melts across the city in the coming months and 500 restaurants nationwide in the next five years.

This is quite an ambitious goal, especially considering the current economy, but as Kaplan argues , “economically, [it is a good time] because people want comfort food.”

This, and the fact that comfort food is a growing market, led Kaplan to have a good feeling about the new venture.

Kaplan had been musing on the idea for The Melt, even before the creation of the Flip Video camera. About ten years ago he started researching grilled cheese to see if it could hold its own as the main food of a nationwide restaurant chain. As part of his research, he solicited customer opinions about grilled-cheese sandwiches. Kaplan was convinced that a grilled-cheese sandwich chain could succeed, but there was one main dilemma: how do you make the sandwiches consistent when those cooking it are not trained chefs?

Kaplan had the hardware manufacturer Electrolux develop a special grill that can toast bread and cheese efficiently and reliably, with minimal effort from the staff. They came up with a machine that combines two induction burners, a microwave and non-stick pads, which allow the bread to toast while the cheese melts—without squishing the sandwich as a Panini press might do. All in all, Kaplan says he has a pretty “kickin’” sandwich maker.

This special grill went through intense testing for over six months, and if you are wondering who ate the thousands of sandwiches that the grill produced during its testing phase, lets just say that Kaplan emerged from the testing plump with victory.

The Melt also utilizes a mobile-ordering system that lets customers buy a sandwich on their phones and then scan a Quick Response code (those pixelated black-and-white squares) on the phone’s screen when they arrive. The QR code then triggers the grilling process, delivering hot grilled-cheese sandwiches, at US$5.95, within two minutes.

In addition to the prestige that comes with having Sequoia as an investor, the Melt has a powerhouse board of directors. The Melt has attracted industry giants like Ron Johnson, known as the “wizard of retail” who directed the rise of the Apple Store and recently became CEO of J.C. Penney. Other business celebrities include chef Michael Mina, who gives Kaplan advice on soups to pair with different types of cheeses. Now, why such a powerful board of directors?

To be fair, Kaplan is known for his history of successes. In addition to Pure Digital Technologies, the Flip camera maker that was bought

by Cisco Systems in 2009, Kaplan sold FamilyWonder, an entertainment-media company, to Sega. Michael Moritz, a Sequoia partner, describes Kaplan as a “man who can clearly express what he thinks it is that will delight a consumer, whether it’s a video camera or a grilled-cheese sandwich.”

Before the first location’s opening, Kaplan expounded on the www.themelt.com similarities between his past consumer-electronics endeavors and sandwich shops. Kaplan made connections that others didn’t believe existed, and while doing so, one by one, potential customers peeked through the windows and tugged on the door handles, excited for the opening of the Melt.

The Melt is, by design, a business with high aims, thanks to its factory-line infrastructure and fast-ordering tools. It has been described as a high-tech sandwich shop, and when it comes to grilled-cheese sandwiches Kaplan’s new project is certainly “the new thang.” “I know as much about the restaurant business as I knew about video cameras five years ago,” Kaplan said. “Grilled cheese makes people happy. Food is fundamental to our daily lives.” Couldn’t agree more; now let me go make myself a sandwich.

Sources used in this article: www.cnn.com

the talon • 11

news

A Week in 100 Words Students reflect on the 2011 HS trips

Yana Ahlden 9th Grade: Rio Grande do Sul Theme: Respect Our trip to Rio Grande do Sul was amazing. We visited German and Italian museums and learned a lot about how the immigrants’ arrival influenced Brazil. We had the experience of going to German houses and Italian grape farms, and tasting their delicious food. We had a great time hiking and exploring the town even though we were exhausted in the end. Not only did we soak up the culture, but we also created many new friendships. In addition, we loved having free time at night, so we could socialize with more people. This trip overall was wonderful. I had a great time and would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

Julia Pontes The 9th grade trip to Rio Grande do Sul was spectacular. The food like the churrasco, pasta and German foods were amazingly good, but the best were the bolinhas de queijo (cheese balls). The students had the opportunity to better get to know other students and teachers, andwe learned a lot about the Germans and Italians that settled there when the Europeans were coming to Brazil. We visited some fantastic places like Canela and Gramado (where we had the opportunity to eat really good chocolate), Bento Gonçalves, Parque do Caracol (where we saw amazing waterfalls), Parque da Ferradura, and other beautiful places. In general, it was a great trip!

Rolando Gonzalez

Kendra Gonnerman

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Karin Gunn

10th Grade: Salvador, Bahia Theme: Service My High School trip experience was incredible. Filled with turquoise-colored beaches and mouthwatering acarajés, every moment in that exciting soteropolitano air was astonishing. Our trip’s purpose, besides getting to know a little of Bahia, was to answer these two questions: How does a person define a place? How does a place define a person? Even within my first moments at Salvador, I could tell that this was the perfect location for us to find the answer, for just like the traditional moqueca, the city had a rich mixture of many different African and Christian traditions that together make it absolutely unforgettable.

P.S. Dear freshmen/future sophomores, hold on to your horses ‘cause you’re in for an absolutely amazing ride…

Mariana Lepecki The grade 10 trip to Salvador was an amazing and unique experience. Unlike last year’s trip, which was all about the historical aspects of the place, this trip delved into more of the cultural aspects. I especially liked drumming with the famous group Olodum, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Learning about Candomblé, the religious mixture between Catholicism and African tradition, was also very informative. The topic of our trip was how a person defines a place, and how a place defines a person, and we definitely explored that. Apart from the total lack of sleep, the 10th grade Bahia trip was overall an incredible experience.

Adam Hunt Fertig

news 11th Grade: Bonito Theme: Environment The juniors traveled to Bonito and did many activities focused on the theme of “environment.” We visited the good and the bad of Bonito, experiencing the beautiful waterfalls and caves, but also learning about our impact on the environment by visiting waste dumps and recycling centers. We learned about the variety of bird and animal species and the effort organizations in Bonito have put into preserving them, while at the same time providing opportunities for work and profit from nature for the people living in Bonito. From rafting to snorkeling, and from bird watching to hiking, this trip was an unforgettable and educational experience we wouldn’t have

RJ Jensen

received in any other place.

Ines Gil 12th Grade: Pernambuco A Bonito trip includes an airplane landing at about 3 o’clock and then had a four-hour bus ride to the hotel. What does a four-hour bus ride look like with the 11th grade? One could think of it as a night club, as some people play booming music at the back, others take an opportunity to listen to their own music, and others fall asleep with their mouths wide open. This trip was outstanding, with opportunities to snorkel in water clearer and cleaner than a pool, jump off waterfalls, and visit caves with even more crystal clear waters. With its ups and downs, smiles and tears, Bonito was, as the cliché goes,

Theme: Culture Our trip to Pernambuco was intended to be about culture, and the trip lived up to its goal. Getting to know more about the local dances and the arts and crafts was truly a new experience. I learned new things on this trip. I had always believed that the ciranda was a mere kids’ game and that all that Pernambuco offered culturally was the frevo dance. However, I learned that other cultural aspects of Pernambuco are known all over the world.

Gabriel da Nóbrega

bonito!

Valentin Camillon

While most of my friends were struck with fear at the thought of the era of class trips coming to an end, I was thrilled at the notion of spending a week in a beautiful place with some amazing people. My expectations were exceeded as we danced, sang, ate, swam, and snorkeled in Recife and Olinda. The trip brought us closer as a grade and opened my eyes to a culture I had never seen before. I will fondly remember the bright colors, rhythmic drums, vibrant clay sculptures, and endless blue skies that populated my first and last class trip.

Courtney Villeneuve

Danya Ejaz

the talon • 13

news

The Newest Thang in Renewable Energy An ex-hippie creates model for a sustainable world

Mendel Schwarz

A

ttention everyone! A new era for automobiles has finally arrived! Ecotricity, a UK clean-energy company has announced a new release named the Nemesis. The innovative sports car is responsible for a huge technological transformation in the manufacturing of engines. Ecotricity developed a machine whose sole energy supply is the wind. Yes, the wind!

Making use of the chassis of the renowned Lotus Exige, the new car has two 125-kilowatt motors which produce 330 brake horsepower, meaning that this sports car can run faster than any V12 Ferrari. The two motors positioned at the front of the car are powered by a lithium polymer battery which can be charged in less than two hours and run for around 100 to 150 miles.

In order for Dale Vince, Ecotricity’s CEO, to accomplish his dream project, he dedicated two years solely to its manufacturing at the cost of US$ 1.6 million. When questioned whether the amount of time and money spent on the project was worthwhile, Vince responded by affirming that it was all worth it to help create a more sustainable world.

“We call our car a wind-powered car because we think it’s important not to lose sight in the debate. We all need to switch to electric vehicles, but that energy has to come from somewhere,” Vince said.

Although much of the company’s efforts during the last years were centered on cars, Ecotricity doesn’t plan to only concentrate its investments on one type of vehicle. Vince has recently announced the development of an electrically powered tractor. He also indicated that he is entering one of his earlier creations, an electrically powered motor bike, into the Isle of Man TT Zero Race. “Motor sport generally is a place of drama and excitement and if we can demonstrate green technologies there, we can show that actually living a more sustainable life isn’t about giving something up. You can still have fun but we can do it cleanly,” he said.

Vince also reminisced over how the whole concept of wind and electrically powered vehicles came to be. He dates

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the initiation of such thoughts back to 1991 when he recalls traveling in a bus and staying in a trailer in pursuit of “an alternative way of living.” One night, at a hill just outside the town of Stroud in Gloucestershire, England, he decided to build a windmill to power his energy-less trailer. “I just wanted to make big windmills. I used to simply sit around at night and say, why don’t they build windmills to make electricity? And it dawned on me, who are ‘they’? Why not me, why don’t I do it? And so I did.” he said.

Vince decided to start from scratch. He undertook numerous battles with billion-dollar companies to carry outhis desire for a better, cleaner world. For years he researched the subject, dwelling on the details in order to lead his futuristic business ahead.

He describes those years as the foundation for what has become his company 16 years later.

The dedication demonstrated by the ex-hippie-turnedsuccessful businessman should serve as a basis for the current generation. He undertook these energy-monitor.co.uk challenges without any experience, for the sole purpose of helping the world and future generations. Vince rapidly went from a humble citizen living in a trailer to a business owner on his way to diminishing one of the world’s greatest problems, global warming.

The rationale for such a dramatic act must also be looked upon with great admiration. The world now attributes more value to money and material goods than ever in history, and our connections with the natural entities that surround our lives could be considered less significant than in the past. It is satisfying to see someone dedicate himself to impairing this situation.

We can only hope that more sustainable innovations arise. They seem to be the only ray of light among the neverending difficulties that we create to ourselves through resource depletion and pollution. Nature was created to live alongside humans and with examples as the one above there is, in fact, hope that this may finally become true.

entertainment

The Irksome Bug

...and its infamous, bewildering symptoms Julia Wu

S

eniors, looks like emancipation is near. Freshmen and sophomores, turn the page. (Seriously, stop reading. Hey, don’t.

Stop it. Ok, you know what? I tried. Read on at your own risk.)

Juniors... oh, unfortunate, soon-to-be distressed and helpless juniors, welcome to the new thang: The apex of Graded’s educational journey, the legendary IB. If you couldn’t discern the title’s insinuation, don’t worry. We’ll soon be dreaming of the word “baccalaureate.”

It actually hasn’t been that long since the beginning of school, yet one can already hear reluctance, dread and anxiety in the hallways, especially across the A-wing. This is because the IB doesn’t really care how much time students take to familiarize themselves with its affiliation. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be notorious among international pupils for 43 years.

Why then, one may ask, do these bizarre students choose to suffer?

The two of the most palpable levels of the bug’s virus are “partial” and “full.” Those who prefer not to risk mental or physical health and sanity might opt for the former. More often than not, students who catch the latter undergo more aches. Here are five reasons why we embraced it with consent:

Some do make it through with stunning results after two years of endurance and effort. However, these people work harder, aim higher and run extra miles for the diploma. They are also the ones who bear more symptoms of the bug. Believe it or not all of us at some point in the IB, qualify as a nerd ― or at least brag about how close we got to being one due to the workload. The following are some typical symptoms of a Graded IB slave. I encourage you to check the ones that apply, to see how authentic (or not) of an IB-er you are (or would be). Now, if you manage to relate to all of the following upon graduation, I don’t know whether you deserve applause or pity.

5.

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4.

3.

2.

1.

As optimistic, creative sophomores choosing upcoming year’s courses, we were willing to try the toughest classes possible. When asked, “Why do you want to enroll in the full IB?” we replied with a glorious “because I want to become a better individual, challenge myself and get the most out of Graded.” We liked the number 42 (maximum scores of 7 in all 6 IB classes).

We think it’s fun to carry 8 books home every night.

We want to discover what could replace movies, parties and trips.

We are curious about how much we can resemble a zombie after staying up all night, and how many pieces of paper it takes to bury a bed.

We want to take self-torture to an intellectual level.

Note that many full IB-ers are still in the process of reevaluating their motives and trying, in vain, to turn back.

We mean it when we sing in the shower, “yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away…” Consider, though, that not all IB-ers hate the program and have trouble handling the stress.

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You can spot someone having a breakdown near you. Within a 6.5 meter radius, to be specific.

You compute how many trips it takes to transport the books you need to take home from your locker to the bus/car.

On average, 2.

When you crave coffee and brewing takes too long, you munch the beans. Because waiting means falling asleep again.

Your homepage is Sparknotes.com. Or Wikipedia.

The term “social” sounds strange and remote to you. Unless it deals with history.

Even your teachers ask you to relax. But you want to reply, “RELAX? You said relax?!”

You have a permanent seat in A3 or any other computer lab. You’ve discovered that the system logs on faster every time you use the same computer.

Forgetting your calculator at home is more concerning than forgetting to brush your hair. Calculators are a more significant extension of your head.

Your thoughts ache. Your aches think.

You get a panic attack when listening to the song “TiK ToK” by Kesha, and Ibiza comes to mind.The statement stands for itself.

You date fellow IB-ers. They understand your breakdowns.

It is undeniable that all IB students, during those two pivotal years, will come up with exclusive incidents influenced by the challenging curriculum, yet none of which capable are of bringing us to collapse. It is vital to bear in mind that what seems like scary thresholds are all potential milestones. The diploma itself will be one, as we soon find yourself uttering, “I SURVIVED THE IB!”

the talon • 15

entertainment

“We Can Dream, Can’t We?” Inventions that should come to Graded Ines Gil

T

ired of too much homework? Not enough free time? Yes, we have heard it all before, but we shall hear it no more. With all of the following amazing gadgets coming out, there will be nothing left to complain about. Here they are ― the inventions to be brought to Graded.

1. Speech Translator Many of us, being in an international school, roam through the hallways only understanding some conversations here and there because there are so many languages spoken. No longer will you be in the dark with this invention; just turn it on and focus it on a speaker, and all will automatically be translated.

Now you won’t have to Google words between breaks, or do the “nod and smile” technique ever again!

2. Automatic Trash Organizer Do you keep getting confused by all the trash cans and colors?

Just put your waste in one of these, a trashcan that automatically organizes it into organic, metal, plastic, and paper categories. It magically gets rid of all those pesky mistakes and confusion involved with throwing things away. Just put your trash in and watch the world improve.

3. Cloning Machine With all the activities and classes Graded has to offer, there are many things we can’t do simply because there is only one of us. But with this replicating machine, you can clone yourself up to 12 hours and be in 2 places at once. This invention gives you the freedom of signing up for several community services, taking as many classes as you want, and living two different schedules. Think of all the possibilities and advancements we could make if everyone could do everything they are interested in.

4. Fruit Freshener As everyone crowds around the bins of apples and bananas after the second block, there are always looks of disappointment of seeing mushy apples or brown bananas. But with this Fruit Freshener device, the click of a button will help your fruit become delicious and juicy. The treat you had been waiting for is now edible!

5. Time Stopper It’s 11:00 p.m., and you just now are starting homework, due to the three hours spent on Facebook scrolling down your News Feed. There is so much to do, yet such little time. What could you do? Use your Time Stopper of course. Press the pause button and everything around you stops. You will be frozen at 11:00 p.m. for as long as you want, so you have enough time to finish everything, and still go to sleep at 11:05 p.m. With this invention, you will no longer waste time because you have

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all the time in the world. Go eat a snack, maybe look at one more round of News Feeds; with the Time Stopper, you can.

6. Gum Generator Whether it’s right after lunch or a stop at the snack bar, this question is always floating around Graded: “Do you have gum?”

No longer will you have to witness your friends lying to you, saying they don’t have gum (although they have a full pack in their bags) and having to pay for many pieces at the Snack Bar, when you only needed one. With Gum Generators set up along the Graded hallways, just press the button of the one you want, and the machine quickly generates it for you. The Gum Generator: Making people happier one piece of gum at a time.

7. Mental BBM Chip The title says it. Put this chip behind your ear and with a single thought you can send BBMs to your friends in school. Yes, they will be deactivated during test hours by control of the teachers, but no longer will you have to hide your Blackberries behind bags or have the red light flashing, mocking you during class.

BBM away!

8. Teleporter to the Snack Bar Instead of wasting time walking all the way to the Snack Bar, you will now be able to reach there from your very own classroom. With this invention, your teacher will no longer sigh at the thought of you leaving for the Snack Bar, because now it will only take a few seconds to get there and back. Now, if there was only a way to teleport to the front of the line…

9. Equation Generator Physics and Math students, this is especially for you. Get this device and you won’t have to carry those packets of formulas everywhere. This waste of paper and space will be gone, once replaced by the electronically recorded equations. Scan the problem with the generator and it will compute the equation needed to find the solution. …And last but definitely not least, 10. A Reliable Computer System Yes, now it will only take a few seconds to log in, you won’t have to wait for the printers to connect, and the Internet will be working efficiently, not just some times during the day but all day every day!

Coming out Fall of 2012, these inventions will change the lives of students for the better. Say goodbye to those all-nighters, endless hours spent at school, bad fruit and breath, and all your complaints. Graded alumni, eat your hearts out.

entertainment

Trends in Today’s Audiovisual World A glimpse of what is occurring in movies and music

Kevin Bengtsson

I

n the realm of entertainment, nothing ever remains stagnat.

What existed half a century ago has most likely ceased to exist by now and been duly replaced by something else. Innovation?

Not always. In fact, rarely is there any innovation in trends.

That’s beside the point, though, because there is certainly a new thang going on…

When watching movies nowadays, there are a few trends, particularly 3D technology. Reliance on said technology was set ablaze when, in 2009, James Cameron’s Avatar was advertised as a quasi-out-of-this-world experience. Record ticket sales and revenue of 2.7 billion US dollars later, here we are in 2011, where a myriad of films are not necessarily made in 3D, but converted into the format. This exploits the audience’s diminishing willingness to pay an extra amount for a movie which, in essence, is exactly the same.

Furthermore, the movie industry seems to be increasingly relying on franchises, creating more and more movies which are prequels, sequels or reboots of others. At times, the sequels result in some of the greatest movies in recent years (e.g. The Dark Knight), but this is not always the case. What might remain are long-lasting series of mediocre movies—the Fast and Furious movies spring to mind (a series already in its fifth title). Prequels also get their fair share of exposure with highly popular franchises such as X-Men and Planet of the Apes, two recently added to the list. Additionally, reboots of movie franchises are tending to become a more profitable way for a company to keep “clients” (i.e. us) happy without having to undergo a more laborious endeavor to create something original. For example, Columbia Pictures has enough chutzpah to begin the Spider-Man franchise anew by releasing The Amazing Spider-Man (advertised as a 3D film) only five years after Spider-Man 3 was released.

If you scrutinized the previous paragraph you’d notice a recurring theme: superhero movies. Yes, superhero movies have become a trend and are in fact so numerous, that the task to list them here would be tedious. In the forefront of these releases are the two ubiquitous comic book companies, Marvel and DC Comics, competing for their timeless classics to be published in audiovisual form. An anomaly, however, can be found in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, an adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name, which was created by neither Marvel nor DC. Conversely, there has been a surge of popularity in a certain breed of films colloquially known as the “psychologi-

cal movies.” The most notable recent movies in this genre (if one may call it so) are Inception (who hasn’t seen it?), Shutter Island and Black Swan.

In fact, these trends are so prominent that a cursory Google search for a top 10 list of the best movies of 2010 results in the following (lowest to highest ranked): True Grit, Harry Potter 7: Part 1, Shutter Island, Tangled, Black Swan, How to Train Your Dragon, The King’s Speech, The Social Network, Toy Story 3 and Inception. The list, created by FilmCrave, highlights both the 3D trend (four of the movies were released in the format), the “psychological movie” trend (three of the top ten), and the reliance on franchises (Harry Potter and Toy Story).

Take away “visual” from “audiovisual entertainment” and you have “audio entertainment,” or music. This form of art does not escape the inevitable trends that persist in the movie business, albeit its trends are different. It has become a common occurrence for music to be stolen, or pirated through digital means, and the industry has thusly reacted. In 2007, the band Radiohead infamously released their seventh studio LP, In Rainbows, in “pay what you want” format, allowing fans to get the album digitally for absolutely no cost. Subsequent to this, the music world began innovating. A website called Bandcamp was created for independent artists to release their music and be allowed to charge as much as they wish; more artists began streaming their albums for free on their websites, and music is being spread through digital means. But this is something that has been going on for a while. As a result of this digital revolution in music, record labels are losing their significance in the business, especially considering quite a few big name bands have recently been advocating pirating and free music.

There are several people today who say something along the lines of “music isn’t what it was before,” and I respons, “nonsense!” Although mainstream music might have decreased in quality, music in and of itself hasn’t; people nowadays are just a few mouse clicks away from “discovering America.” Those who say otherwise are ignorant. This idea extends to every form of entertainment, because, just like anything in life, it has evolved from what it was just ten years ago. Those not satisfied with current trends are just not looking carefully for what they want.

Sources used in this article: FilmCrave.com

the talon • 17

entertainment

I’m With You, Chili Peppers!

A biased review of the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album Kyle Bissel

I

would like to start by saying that because I am a huge Red Hot Chili Peppers fan, so much of what I say may be absurdly biased. Now that we got that out of the way, let’s assess the situation at hand: the Chili Peppers, on August 29, released their tenth studio album titled I’m With You. After listening to the album about fifty times (maybe more), I have to say that I love it! If you haven’t been following the recent RHCP news, than you may not be aware that there is a new guitarist on this album. John Frusciante, who was more than essential in the composition of incredible records such as the legendary Blood Sugar Sex Magik (which just marked its twentieth birthday) and most recently Stadium Arcadium, had decided that his musical interests no longer matched those of the Chili Peppers. The split was completely amicable and Frusciante was free to further pursue his musical desires. This marked the second time Frusciante leaves the band (he left shortly after the release of Blood Sugar Sex Magik), and the nth time the Chili Peppers has lost a guitarist. Fans from all over the world were grieving the possible end of such an inspiring band.

As I listen to “Monarchy of Roses,” the first song of the new album, I can tell you now that the Chili Peppers met no such end. They replaced Frusciante with guitarist Josh Klinghoffer who toured with them during their Stadium Arcadium tour.

Now that I’m With You is out, I believe you won’t listen to this album pondering what could have been with Frusciante.

One important distinction between John Frusciante and Josh Klinghoffer is that while Frusciante is a very riff-driven guitarist, Klinghoffer is, as lead singer Anthony Kiedis puts it, more of a “texture” guitarist. The texture that Klinghoffer adds to this album makes it so that Kiedis shines on the vocals, Flea kills on the bass, and Chad Smith continues to prove that he is just a rhythmic beast. I can’t think of a song on this album that I didn’t like, so making a top 5 was incredibly difficult, but here it goes: I’m With You’s Top 5 (in random order): • “Brendan’s Death Song”: This song was written on the first day the group came back together after a five-year hiatus.

Unfortunately, they had just received the news that former L.A. club owner and longtime friend Brendan Mullen who gave the band their first big break had died. In their sorrow, the Chili

18 • the talon

Peppers came up with this song. This was initially my favorite song on the album in which Kiedis questions his own mortality in a way that gave me goose bumps.

• “Happiness Loves Company”: Although many fellow Chili Pepper fans may not put this song on their Top 5, I feel that it had to be here. The song has piano in it, which was unheard for the Chili Peppers before this record. Flea obviously learned a lot from the music courses he took during the band’s hiatus. The pieces that each member brings into this song fit together to make it well-balanced and addicting.

• “Ethiopia”: Influenced by the Chili Pepper’s love for African music and Josh and Flea’s trip to Ethiopia in which they jammed with locals, one can see how the band is always changing and taking influences from everywhere. I found the beat to this song incredibly hard to tap my foot to, but I was content with just lying back and letting Flea kill it on the bass.

• “Did I Let You Know”: I was stunned by the overall energy of this song. We can miojoindie.com clearly hear Klinghoffer’s beautiful voice when he sings “take me home, take me home.” This is just another example of the texture that he adds to the album. The overall feel of this song is one of newness but also familiarity for Chili Pepper fans. Flea also has a mind-blowing trumpet solo.

• “Monarchy of Roses”: As the first track on the album, it pretty much sets the initial mood and how the listener goes into the album. I have to say that at first the voice distortion scared me but once the song jumped into its next groove, I came to enjoy the contrast. When I first listened to this song, after so much anticipation for this moment, I couldn’t help but grin the whole time it played.

That’s my Top 5, but it’s killing me not to talk about every song in this album. I urge you to not only listen to these songs but listen to the rest as well. Also, although I had an experience of pure euphoria throughout my first listen of the album, some people did not. For them it took a few more listens, but now they are also hooked, so this is why I ask that you do not jump into any conclusions after just the first listen. I will end by congratulating the Red Hot Chili Peppers for their masterpiece, as Rolling Stone writer Jon Dolan says, “strip down to your tube socks and party, dudes—you’ve earned it.”

entertainment

Trivialities A list of new facts

Julia Wu

T

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • •

he filming of the movie Titanic cost more than the RMS Titanic itself.

A group of frogs is called an army.

Frogs sometimes eat enough fireflies that they themselves glow.

The perfect nap is 26 minutes.

There are no cemeteries in San Francisco, CA. While at Harvard University, Edward Kennedy was suspended for cheating on a Spanish exam.

Adolf Hitler was Time magazine’s Man of the Year for 1938.

The computer was Time magazine’s Man of the Year for 1982.

The founder of JCPenney had the middle name “Cash.”

Cleopatra married two of her brothers.

A human being’s nostrils each recognize smell in a different way.

The Milky Way is constantly moving through space, at 305 km/s.

The cherry is a member of the rose family.

Popsicles were invented by Frank Epperson when he was 11 years old.

Within the first 7 months after their nation joined World War 1 296 American soldiers committed suicide.

A dentist invented the electric chair.

Every human spent about 30 minutes as a single cell.

Two thousand frowns create one wrinkle.

To prevent it from digesting itself, your stomach will produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks.

American Express issued the first ever credit card in 1951.

Forbes magazine’s 400 wealthiest individuals have an average age of 63.

In December 1987, the NASDAQ stock exchange was disabled for a whole day when a squirrel crawled through a telephone line.

Our dreams last from 5 to 20 minutes.

People who are blind at birth have dreams formed by other senses.

The tooth is the only part of your body that doesn’t repair itself.

Rats can tell the difference between two human languages.

There are about 20 doctors in the U.S. called Dr. Doctor.

In outer space, you would explode before you suffocated since there is no air pressure.

The oldest pig lived to the age of 68.

Human birth control pills work on gorillas.

In Pakistan, goats are sometimes sacrificed in attempt to

• •

• •

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

improve the behavior of the stock market.

Leonardo DiCaprio got his first onscreen kiss from a man.

The word “taxi” is spelled the same in at least 11 different languages—English, French, German, Swedish, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Czech, Slovak, and Portuguese.

The meteoric dust that falls to Earth makes it 100 tons heavier each day.

Theft, disorderly conduct, armed robbery, rape and assault statistically increase during the full moon; murder does not.

Over 1 million stray dogs live in metropolitan New York.

Sandra Bullock is allergic to horses.

Many children in Russia are given a birthday pie instead of cake.

A pickle will emit light with the help of two forks and a charge.

99% of the pumpkins sold in the U.S. are for decorative purposes.

In Las Vegas, there is one slot machine for every 8 inhabitants.

Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse all died at age 27.

The human brain is insensitive to pain.

Months that begin on a Sunday always have a “Friday the Thirteenth.”

The U.S. government doesn’t allow portraits of living persons on stamps.

Marlboro cigarettes sold in New York contain more nicotine than those sold in other states.

One out of 11 workers in North Carolina depends on tobacco for their income.

The NY phone book had 22 Hitlers before World War II, and none after World War II. The opposite sides of a dice cube always add up to 7.

Over 10,000 birds die every year from smashing into windows.

About 20,000 checks will be deducted from the wrong account within the next hour.

There are three cities in the US that have the same name as the state they’re located in: Maine, ME; New York, NY; and Wyoming, WY.

Sources used in this article: www.factsnfacts.com; www. nicefacts.com

the talon • 19

entertainment

Overheard at Graded Maybe the HS trips didn’t do us much good after all...

Isabella Zevallos

D

ear Girls Above Me is a popular blog (www.deargirlsaboveme.com) that features regular posts by a man who, whenever he hears any of the various interesting comments made by the two girls that live above him, creates theoretical letters to them and posts these on his blog. In attempt to translate this same idea to The Talon, “Overheard at Graded” was created to imitate the basic concept of Dear Girls Above Me because, after all, Graded’s hallways and classrooms are indeed full of—well—let’s just say interesting, funny, and sometimes even rather stupid comments.

Inside the bus: “He has that sixth sense.”

“He has that sex face?”

I have a feeling that something is wrong here, but maybe that’s just me.

On the PGC retreat: “Your mouth is so light!”

At least my nose is heavy...

In Pernambuco’s Atelier Brennand, which has many phalliclooking sculptures: Guy: “I’m really attached to mine.”

Girl: “Well, I hope you’re attached to it…”

I really hope you were talking about a stuffed animal or anything of the sort, I really do.

On the PGC retreat: “Guys, I’m not a ninja, I’m just an Asian.”

Thanks for crushing all my dreams about a secret Asian society of ninjas who use chopsticks to fight crime.

Part of a conversation in the senior hall: “The dinosaur can eat you, but you can eat the cookie.”

It’s always good to know that there is still something to hope for after you have been killed by an extinct animal.

In the middle of ToK class: “Nah, I don’t really hug people.”

“Really? I am Asian and I hug people!”

Hey, we’re all for breaking down stereotypes...

On the Bahia trip: Student 1: “It’s been proven that smart people drink more.”

Student 2: “Like…alcohol?”

No, water. Because only smart people drink water.

On the way to the airport: “My emails go directly as spasms.”

And that is why I use a Hotmail account—no spasms, just regular, harmless spam.

On the way to the airport: “[student’s name] says hi.”

“Already?”

“Wait, what?”

“Didn’t you say she was high?”

It is good to know that this is what first comes to a teenager’s mind.

20 • the talon

While waiting for the airplane to take off: “I have Kit Kats, cookies, white Kinder Buenos, Bradesco cookies…”

Did you use Bauducco credit cards to buy all of those treats?

Also at Atelier Brennand, a guy talking to a girl: “You find it interesting because you don’t see it every day.”

Or maybe she does, who knows?

“What would happen if you opened your door and your TV was levitating?”

I knew that Wingardium Leviosa was bound to work for someone in this muggle world...

“If I wanna make a song about a lion mating with a tree, I guess I can.”

Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars should watch out because whenever your song comes out they’ll cease to exist in the music industry.

“I peach like a bruise.”

Really? Sometimes I get so tomatoed that I look like a tan... what a coincidence.

Pointing to right side of chest: “Ah, my heart hurts. Oh wait, my heart’s on the other side.”

Now I feel much better because I know I have someone to go to if I ever need any Biology facts to get cleared up.

“The plural of moose is meece.”

Thanks for the heads-up; I’ll be sure to remember that next time I’m in Canada.

entertainment “I should get a prostate exam. I mean, I hardly eat any tomatoes.”

Yeah, you better watch out for that...especially if you don’t eat any lettuce either.

“I’d rather eat my poop than have a child with him....I’d rather eat unicorn poop.”

Too bad you only eat poop whenever you have a child. I’ve been told that it’s a good component of a healthy diet.

“Unicorns are so perfect, and you don’t ever see them anywhere.”

Especially because their poop is so good.

Guy: “I would clone a woman version of myself.”

This is the reason why human cloning is illegal.

Looking at someone play the ukulele: “Nossa, funciona? Eu achava que era só de enfeite.”

Oh, that explains why you have one hanging on your wall...

In Portuguese class: “A coisa mais fofa é você ver sua vó comendo McDonald’s.”

Really? I think it’s cuter when she eats Burger King.

While watching a Graded soccer game: “Isso tá escrito em judeu ou hebráico?”

Neither. It’s obviously in sign language.

Person 1 (joking): “...and then she saw a mermaid and freaked out.”

Person 2 (serious): “Wait, you believe in mermaids?”

Well, who doesn’t believe in mermaids?

In the locker room: Person 1: “He told me he was a Guarani and I said, ‘Oh, like those awesome people who make that drink?”

“Wait, which drink?”

“Oh, you know…the Guaraná.”

Only the Cokeasians make their own beverage. Duh. “We can watch it on Apple TV.” “Wait, Apple makes TVs?” Of course they do! As well as air conditioners and washing machines.

Note: If you enjoyed this piece, help The Talon gather quotes such as these to make this article a tradition of the magazine.

Just eavesdrop and pay attention to funny moments or things you hear others say in the hallways or classrooms. E-mail us your “Overheard at Graded” moments to talon@graded.br.

Monthly Update

Some ups and downs at Graded Adam Hunt Fertig

High school students rejoice victoriously as the song “September” disappears from Flex assemblies.

On the upside, boisterous freshmen return from PGC more integrated into the high school community. On the downside, boisterous freshmen return from PGC.

Students discover to their dismay that they are, in fact, not in the possession of time turners when it comes to extracurricular activities.

the talon • 21

viva voice

Facebook For Dummies The perils of inter-generation texting Yasmin Della Nina

T

imothy was lying on his bed in his college dorm while watching an intense basketball game, when his celphone rang.

He had a message. For a second he thought maybe he should just ignore it. He was so comfortable doing absolutely nothing.

But he was curious, so he checked it anyway. This was quite an unfortunate decision, for it was…his father.

Dear Timothy, I just created an account on this relationship website. It’s called Facebook. But I don’t understand how it works. How do I delete the account?

-Dad. LOL. Jst wait till I get home. I’ll do it for ya.

Ps. stop callin’ me Timothy.

-T Dear Timothy, I want to delete it now.

-Dad. Omg, jst chillax bra.

-T Dear Timothy, No thanks. And, last time I checked, I am not a “bra.” Write right.

-Dad. Yeah, yeah, wtv… Fine, so click on dat thang on dah top rite hand corner of dah page.

-T Dear Timothy, What thing? There’s nothing there.

-Dad. Wat u mean there’s nothin’ there? IDGI. -T Dear Timothy, Nothing. Just the background image. What’s IDGI? -Dad. Dad. U. R. SUCH. A. NOOB. Seriously. Ok… jst ignore dah IDGI.

22 • the talon

Of COURSE there’s nothin’ there. Ur on ur desktop! OPEN dah freakin’ Facebook page FIRST. That’s so BFO… -T Dear Timothy, Right. That makes sense. What now?

-Dad. Did u click on dah thang in dah rite hand corner already?

-T Dear Timothy, There are millions of things on the right hand corner.

-Dad. Dad. Ur seriously irking me. Aite, FOCUS ol’ man. On the TOP rite hand corner – TOP remember? – there’s dis thang that says somthin’ like settings, or account or somthin’. Click on it.

(Clicks are done with the mouse, btw.)

-T Dear Timothy, I know how clicks are done. Don’t disrespect me. Okay, I have clicked on the link that said Account.

-Dad. Jeez, SORRY. I meant no dis. I’m kewl here. Now click on Account Settings.

-T Dear Timothy, I have clicked on Account Settings.

-Dad. Shveet. Now click on Security.

-T Dear Timothy, Did you know you can change languages? There are so many options! I think I want to try English (pirate). What do you suppose that is?

-Dad. DAD. FOCUS. If u click on dat u’ll never delete ur account!

-T

viva voice Dear Timothy, I have clicked on English (pirate) as my language choice. It is hilarious!

-Dad.

Dear Timothy, There’s nothing like this here. It’s like you don’t even know Facebook, son. It’s not Security, it’s Methods o’ Defense.

-Dad.

Word G-man. Real kewl.

-T

Yea, um, u’r being a douche. Not gonna help u anymore. L8R. -T

Dear Timothy, Really?

-Dad.

Dear Timothy, I don’t need your help anyway. I know you’re just saying that because you don’t know how to disable accounts. But don’t worry, I have discovered how by myself. My account is disabled.

Thanks for nothing, son.

-Dad.

NO DAD. Common’ focus, jeez. I don’t hav all freakin’ day.

-T Dear Timothy, What are you doing anyway? Why are you in such a hurry?

-Dad. Nunya business. Hold on, BRB. -T Dear Timothy, What should I do now?

-Dad. Dear Timothy, What should I do now?

-Dad. Dear Timothy, What should I do now?

-Dad. WTH. Chill yo. Wat do u want?

-T Dear Timothy, Disable my account remember? Where were you?

-Dad. I was jst grabbin’ somethin’ downstairs and took a nano-nap.

And I’m only gonna help u if u quit bein’ a douche.

-T Dear Timothy, I have no idea what that means. But I’ll stop.

-Dad.

GDIAH dad. Oh, and LMA. -T Dear Timothy, Yo bra, chill out, it’s not ma fault u jst got pwned! Anyway, ITTYL, AFK now. Peace.

-Dadyo.

No dad. Jst… no.

-T

Acronyms Explained: In case there are some words whose meanings are unclear, here’s a key (for dummies): AFK: Away from keyboard.

BFO: Blinding flash of obvious.

Bra: Brother.

BRB: Be right back.

Dis: Disrespect.

GDIAH: Go die in a hole.

IDGI: I don’t get it.

ITTYL: I’ll talk to you later.

L8R: “See you later” or “Talk to you later” or just “Later.”

LMA: Leave me alone.

LOL: “lots of laughs” or “laughing out loud” (depends on the person).

Nano-nap: A really, really, really short nap.

Nunya: None of your...

OMG or Omg: “Oh my gosh” or “Oh my God.” WTH: “What the hell?” or “What the heck?”

So yea, fools, peace.

A’rite. So click on Security.

-T

the talon • 23

features

S3N10RZ!

You have to have one about them every year...

Ho Jun Yang

A

s part of the Talon staff for the past four years, something that I noticed was that every year, there’s at least one article about seniors that isn’t part of the Senior Edition. In the past, these articles have ranged from being a vehement declaration of war on juniors for invading the sanctity of the senior lawn, to a description of the endless list of workload for the senior year. So, following this tradition, I believe it is necessary to introduce the class of 2012, who are finally seniors.

A grade level composed of 85 students, the current senior class has students who are known as “lifers,” all the way to students who have arrived at Graded just this year.

Although this grade might not be filled with the stellar grades of the previous year and might possibly, as Pags often says, be the grade with the “lowest GPA in the high school,” it still has redeeming qualities. Senior Bruno Zuccolo reflected on what he believed to be a quality of this year’s group of seniors: “I think that the Class of 2012 manages to have a bit of everything. Many different types of people are present in this class, and yet everyone still manages to get along.” However, senior Matias Beretta thought a little bit differently, “I think its unity isn’t authentic at all. But on the brighter side, it’s an easygoing grade. It seems that there are no significant conflicts to trouble any of its members. I have nothing to complain about, considering where I come from [Uruguay] and if you think about it, you can always find faults in anything if you truly wanted to. So, from that perspective, our grade is really chill.”

Now, what do the seniors actually feel now that they have risen to the top of the student food chain? Several other seniors were asked the following two questions: 1) How do you feel now that you are a senior?; 2) Do you feel as if you have more “power” now that you’re a senior? How so?

Carla Alves: 1.

2.

“I don’t feel there’s a difference in being a senior. I just feel that everyone is really, really small, in the sense that I don’t feel like I’m amongst the ‘adults,’ but I still feel like a child. I mean, I don’t feel any different than I was in the younger grades.”

“I don’t feel like I have any more ‘power’ than when I was in a lower grade, and I don’t think that I should have more either. I think that all grades should have equal amounts of ‘power,’ whatever that may entail.”

24 • the talon

Steven Liu: 1.

“I feel that I am one step closer towards the next stage of my life, in the sense that we will be ‘freshmen’ in college, and in a few years, real society. Also, in the sense that we will soon be working. I feel like this is the last year for us to prepare ourselves to be more independent.”

2.

“I do feel that I have more ‘power’ because more and more choices in my life are being made by myself with less say from my parents.”

Courtney Villeneuve: 1.

“I remember in second grade, I went to watch the musical performed by the high school, and I felt so small and insignificant in comparison to all of the teenagers I saw.

Seniors seemed to me to be mystical creatures that wore cool clothes and didn’t have bedtimes. Now that I am finally the oldest in school, I don’t feel any older or much wiser.”

2.

“Honestly, no. In my old school, there was no such thing as ‘senior privilege’ and many of my good friends were seniors when I was an underclassman. I am not a fan of senior privilege in general, and I think that it inhibits the possible friendships between students in different grades… but I will say that the senior lawn is nice.”

Oscar Guerra: 1.

2.

“I feel old. I feel as if we are the elders among the students at Graded, and it is somewhat bittersweet. I guess it is because this is supposed to be the highlight of our lives at Graded, yet it goes by so fast, and soon this will all be over.”

“I don’t think we have more ‘power.’ That’s what people always say, but in the end we are all students. Maybe the senior class’s power is the experience that it has.”

Their responses show that the seniors feel quite a range of thoughts and emotions as they start their senior year.

We are filled with excitement, surprise, disbelief, among emotions. We new seniors have risen. So I end this with the somewhat cliché senior war cry, the united voice of the group: “Make Way!” “FOR?!” “2012 SENIORS!”

features

Y U NO Read this Article?

Internet memes and pop culture

Adam Hunt Fertig

A

t a glance, a wrinkled, potato-shaped cartoon face with a tear rolling down its cheek would appear to be a secondgrader’s art project. However, that face, known to many as “Forever Alone,” symbolizes one of the most important phenomena of the digital age: a meme. It’s incredibly difficult to define “meme,” due to its various meanings, but essentially it’s a concept that is spread and upheld by a culture. A meme in the traditional sense can be an idea, a symbol, a style or a practice, among other things. For example, the creation of a Stradivarius violin is a meme in that it is an art known only to a select few.

This meme has actually died, as these violins are no longer manufactured. In recent years, though, the word has been applied to the Internet, and has come to mean a humorous “bit” spread by digital means. Although some of these memes are known only to a small audience, such as “All your base are belong to us,” others have become international sensations, such as Rebecca Black’s viral music video Friday.

If the definition of an internet meme still seems a little fuzzy, that’s because it is. These memes have a broad range of meaning. Some are replicated units with slight variations, kind of like digital dim sum. One example of this type of meme is the Forever Alone character. He is placed on several different backgrounds and with different captions describing him, but he always conveys a sense of loneliness, as the name implies.

Some are social customs that become popular on the internet, such as using “moar” instead of the word “more.” Others are simply videos or images that become popular. “Rickrolls,” for instance, are YouTube videos with an appealing title that turn out to be an irritating music video of Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up. Another key categorizer of memes is whether or not they are original. Forever Alone was originally thought up and drawn by somebody for the sole purpose of being a meme.

Rickrolls, on the other hand, are obviously from a music video

by Rick Astley that unintentionally became a meme. However, the vast majority of memes are a combination of both, meaning that they are old things recycled into “new thangs.”

“Y U NO guy” is one such meme. He is a recurring image meme featuring a face (shown in this article’s image) following a formula used to indicate frustration with something. The obscure history of this so-called “image macro” (a cartoon character with a large-texted caption) dates back to the Japanese manga series Gantz, where the face appears yelling “What the ghefro ghalv?” Even the word “meme” is a recycled

concept, since the original meaning was abstruse jargon, and someone picked it up and modified it, making it popular.

Yet the original meaning of the meme is lost, bringing up a question: Why do memes “die” in the first place? The simplest answer is that a meme disappears when it stops being “the new thang.” As stated before, a meme is spread and upheld by a community, so if the community no longer finds it funny or relevant, it stops being preserved. Of course, due to the globalization of the world, it’s hard for anything to completely disappear, but its popularity can drastically decrease. Many memes succeed by pushing the envelope or by being insulting, something that is especially effective in the “memeification” of politics. Others remain very relevant quickmeme or true, and the public’s identification with them keeps them alive. An entire branch of memes referred to as “Rage Comics” are dedicated solely to those kinds of events, featuring daily rage-inducing events such as receiving Pepsi instead of Coke. A meme will eventually stop being entertaining to its readers and will go the way of the dodo. As mentioned above, this has already happened to the Stradivarius violin. Violinists decided that its quality did not justify the cost and craftsmanship required in the creation of the violins, and the meme died.

This article can’t even begin to explain the depth of memes, since there are countless variations, and many require quite a bit of prior knowledge. There are several sites, such as KnowYourMeme, devoted to explaining memes.

Why? Because memes affect culture just as much as culture affects memes. If someone states in a conversation that they “lost the game,” it’s referring to a widespread meme known as “the game.” Some may remember last year’s posters for an Elderly Home charity, saying “This is how I feel when you donate to Elderly Home”, and below it a picture of Me Gusta, another very popular meme expressing intense satisfaction.

Memes are used in fields from marketing to mob psychology.

Memes have become part of the very culture they seek to describe.

So, even though memes aren’t really “the new thang” for much of the world, it’s safe to say that, at least in the foreseeable future, this Internet phenomenon will continue to dominate the interwebz.

Sources used in this article: knowyourmeme.com; ragecomics.memebase.com; favim.com

the talon • 25

features

i <3 english

The winds of change are blowing on our language, but in what direction?

Lucas Zuccolo

A

erodrome. Alienism. Bever. Brabble. Charabanc. Deliciate.

Frigorific. Supererogate. Younker.

How many of those words do you recognize? Those are amongst the list of words publisher HarperCollins will be removing from smaller print versions of their Collins English Dictionary, as they are so rarely used that they are considered obsolete.

What about OMG? LOL? FYI? <3?

Those are some of the recent additions to the Oxford English Dictionary. And let’s not forget terms like bromance, fist bump, tweet, and cougar (not the animal), which are some of the new words to be included in the 2011 edition of the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.

I’ll inform you that Microsoft Word’s spell check, which many people love to reference, recognizes all but supererogate and bromance.

And these types of changes are not in any way restricted to English: “esqueite” (as well as “esqueitismo”), “deletar,” “escanear,” and a new meaning for “ficar,” not to mention several adopted English words, such as “blog,” “drag queen” and “laptop,” are only a handful of the new additions to the Aurélio Portuguese dictionary.

You may not have spared it much thought when your English teacher said it, but English (and in fact, many others) isn’t called a “modern language” for no reason. There’s really no denying that our language molds and changes itself based on us, based on society.

But this leads to more thought-provoking questions: Is this constant change good? Is it bad? Like most matters related to the language arts, the answer to that question is in the eye of the beholder.

More conservative folks would generally answer that such changes degrade the language. This is the lazy tendency of our youth spilling over into the way we talk and write— why would you simply say “LOL,” or ”lawl,” or any such other spelling, when you could just say that the preceding comment was amusing? There is a more eloquent, precise, and poetic way of saying what you mean. After all, if we continue to shorten and simplify our language, will our converstaions not eventually devolve into a simplistic, crude thing like George Orwell’s fictional Newspeak? Is “D:” really that far from “doubleplusungood”?

From a certain perspective, our language is a reflection

26 • the talon

of us: our attitudes, our behavior, our line of thinking. After all, language is the main way we express such things. The changes our language undergoes are to better represent who we are and how we think. From this point of view, acknowledging the negative potential nature of these modifications to our language is akin to acknowledging the degeneration of our culture and society— yet another reason for these changes to be opposed and resisted.

That is, however, only one side of the coin; a very common view opposing this is that these tendencies are not lazy and self-destructive, and are actually the natural evolution of our language.

You could even compare the Internet and communication mediums, responsible for many of these changes, to the ever-beloved playwright William Shakespeare, creator of many words and expressions that were later incorporated in the language. After all, without such change, there would be en.wikipedia.org little to distinguish this language from dead languages like Latin.

Furthermore, the proposed changes to our language do not restrict themselves to acronyms and shortcuts. Many of the words being introduced to our language originate from advances in human fields of knowledge—terms like continuous positive airway pressure (quite a mouthful), stem cell, social media, and quark. Certain people may even endorse such changes as being the quintessence of human evolution—the expansion of vocabulary paralleling that of understanding.

Other people decide to stay in the gray zone, remaining neutral. These see no problem in saying you enjoyed yourself at that party, rather than “deliciated,” but similarly may admire the linguistic proficiency demonstrated by describing one’s resonating booms of mirth rather than (often hyperbolically) stating that they were ROFLing.

As I said, there really is no right or wrong, no more certainty than claiming what political party is the best or which team deserves to win the World Cup. It is a matter of taste, of personal opinion, to which each person is entitled, for if we did not doubt, we might not think. But therein lies the main importance—that we think, and with thought comes change.

Sources used in this article: dictionary.reference.com; www. graded.br; revistaescola.abril.com.br

features

Da New Learning Technique

First and foremost, I would like to apologize to all teachers in advance...

Mariana Lepecki

H

ave you ever been bored in class? If so, what did you do to entertain yourself? Did you start texting your friends or did you scavenge your bag for a piece of gum to chew? Did you start doodling like a madman, filling up your notebook with random patterns instead of actual notes? Well, if you have ever been in such situations (or worse, if a teacher has ever caught you in these situations), then this is the article for you.

If you haven’t. . .then you might want to start looking for the next spaceship to your home planet.

It turns out that science has finally come through for students… well, sort of. Even though these old habits might be more harmful than helpful, scientists are starting to prove that they might not be as bad as most people thought them to be.

A controversial issue at Graded, texting or “bbming” (because. . .we’re at Graded) may actually improve one’s language skills. Though these new findings might seem controversial or even calamitous to English purists, experts like David Crystal, an Oxford linguistics professor who wrote Txtng: the Gr8 Db8, think otherwise. According to Prof.

Crystal, there are similar linguistic patterns between texting and ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. He also compared today’s language to Shakespeare’s language: “Shakespeare freely used elisions, novel syntax and several thousand made-up words.” Other studies have been drawing similar conclusions on the benefits of texting. With the results of an experiment conducted in England, researchers discovered that children who texted got a better score on their reading and vocabulary tests than the ones that didn’t text. Even though it might not be the best in-class tool, txtng proved itself to not be as counter-productive as people assumed.

Have you ever wandered desperately through your hall, asking people for gum just before a boring class? You might want to start bringing your own gum to school, because not only is it a low-calorie replacement for other snacks, it also improves your memory and concentration.

According to a study published in Apetite (2007), gum can be a good way to reduce your daily calorie average. If you decide to chew two sticks of gum with 20 calories during break—instead of eating one to two cookies with 140 calories— you would have consumed 120 calories less (note: this should not be a replacement for lunch). But perhaps one of the most outstanding discoveries about gum is that, according to a study in the University of Northumbria and the Cognitive Research Unit in England, chewing gum can improve the memory up to 35%. “The results were extremely clear; specifically we found that chewing gum targeted memory. People recalled more

words and performed better in tests on working memory,” said scientist Andrew Scholey, who is in the university’s human cognitive-neuroscience unit. Scientists aren’t sure why chewing gum affects our brains in this manner; however, they do have two theories. Some believe that chewing increases the heart rate, which in turn increases the brain’s oxygen flow.

Others believe that chewing releases insulin, a chemical that stimulates the brain’s memory section. Well. . .I’m guessing this will be a great year for gum-manufactures all around the world.

Like doodling? Can’t help scribbling things on handouts while the teacher explains what they are? Don’t worry, you’re not going crazy. Contrary to what your teachers might think, you’re probably one of the students who retained the most information from their class. . .probably. According to the study conducted by psychologist Jackie Andrade from the University of Plymouth in England, doodlers can remember more facts than non-doodlers; especially when given incredibly boring information to remember. In her experiment, Andrade separated a group of 40 volunteers into two groups of 20 people. Then, both groups were asked to listen to an extremely dull tape that lasted 2½ minutes, and were told to record specific details (the names of people and places) on a sheet of paper. To one of the groups, she asked to shade in some circles and squares while listening, while the other just listened and recorded the information. To her surprise, when she asked them to recall the specific details she had asked to record, the doodlers remembered on average 29% more information than the non-doodlers. Andrade and the other researchers who worked on the study believe that doodling increases memory because it keeps people from daydreaming by keeping them focused on the tape (or on the class in our case). So the next time your teachers or friends comment on your doodling, you can just say that you were attentively listening It is important to remember that if you want to do well in class, the most effective way is to pay attention. Whichever way you do that is up to you, for people learn best in different ways. These new discoveries about old habits won’t suddenly improve your test scores. However, they do make much better arguments than the classic, “but I wasn’t doing anything!”

Sources used in this article: www.thedailybest.com; www.cracked.com; www.worldwidehealth.com; findarticles. com; www.time.com

the talon • 27

features

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28 • the talon

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sports

The Planking Phenomenon It has spread to our athletes

Kyle Bissell

S

ome readers may be confused as to what planking has to do with sports, but as you may have seen, enough athletes have been doing it to make planking worthy of the Sports section. Wikipedia defines it as “an activity consisting of lying face down in an unusual or incongruous location.” According to Sports Illustrated, Orlando Magic player Gilbert Arenas was the first professional athlete to get attention for planking. Here is a picture of Arenas planking on his weight set:

Of course, Arenas’ fellow teammate basketball superstar Dwight Howard caught wind of this phenomenon and felt the need to do some planking of his own. I must say that Howard’s planking photos are much more entertaining than those of Arenas. Here are some examples:

Before I go on, I also must point out the two Pittsburgh Steelers players who took planking to a whole other level:

Why the interest in planking? Probably attention more than anything else. With the exception of Howard, these athletes aren’t what you would consider the best in their respective leagues so it is no mystery that they were seeking attention off the court. Howard, meanwhile, has exploited this fad for advertising purposes, which can be seen in his campaign in China:

The picture above is an advertisement for Howard’s new Adidas “dh” logo. This is just another entertaining example of how companies find fads and use them for advertisement. Also, although I am amused by Howard’s planking, I truly hope he does not adhere to owling as well.

Pictures from sportsillustrated.com

the talon • 29

sports

The Future of Gambling How fantasy sports will change the world

Kevin Wolfson

I

t all started as a small wager between colleagues at Harvard University in early 1960s. Various professors, led by sociologist William Gamson, started the ‘Baseball Seminar,’ which was similar to a fantasy league today. Gamson and his colleagues picked players, built teams, and earned points based on the real-life performance of these players. The person who scored the most points with his fake team would win the league. After undisputed success at Harvard, Gamson took this experiment to the University of Michigan, and others later on. This was the beginning of fantasy sports, spreading to locations all over the world and revolutionizing the universe of sports.

So, for those who still don’t understand fantasy sports: people create their own leagues or join existing ones and pick players who they think will do well throughout the season. They earn points according to the player’s performance, and by the end of the season the person with the best-scoring team wins. You may notice that this is similar to Facebook games, where you make ‘bets’ with others and win fake money, but fantasy sports aren’t just for fun.

Fantasy sports, after the Internet boom of the 1990s, have increased in popularity exponentially. In 2010 there were 32 million registered fantasy players online in the United States. Imagine how many more existed among local leagues, wagers among friends, family members and so on, that aren’t registered officially on websites. The most common sports for fantasy betting are baseball, soccer, basketball, cricket, football, and professional wrestling. This new era of wagering is transforming previous sports gambling routines, which used to consist of betting on teams instead of players. The fantasy sports industry is huge, and it’s getting bigger.

Studies show that in 2006, fantasy sports earned a whopping $4 billion dollars across the sports industry. This study shows only the bets made by people worldwide on Internet gambling websites. This does not account for the millions more made directly between people rather than a gambling website, or casino. Neither does it include the millions of dollars invested by numerous companies that help you make bets (a good example of this is Bloomberg’s fantasy baseball tool, that

30 • the talon

for a reasonable price of 20 bucks a season offers sophisticated statistics to predict the chances of your baseball picks), and so on. There’s big money involved in this industry, and there are always big concerns when a lot of money is involved.

Take one medium-size workplace consultant company named Challenger, Gray, and Christmas. The company estimated that during the last NFL season, employers all over the United States lost around $196.1 million dollars. Why? Because if there are around 32 million fantasy players in the US and 2/3 of them work, taking 10 minutes out of their work day to manage their teams costs companies almost $200 million dollars. “Productivity goes down the drain,” said CEO John Challenger. “It’s like a virus.”

This is one of the concerns that many have when it comes to fantasy sports.

Another one relates not to the companies’ wallets, but the players’ wallets.

It’s estimated that the average amount of dollars spent in one football season on fantasy gambles is $360. Yet other studies show that out of these players surveyed, more than 25% spent more than $500 dollars in just one season! Like Challenger states, this is a virus, but I believe it’s more than that. Any sort of inmagine.com gambling can become an addiction, can ruin lives, and can cause a lot of pain and misery… fantasy sports are no exception to this rule.

As you have seen, fantasy sports have their pros and cons. Many believe they are a new, safer way to gamble because of all the tools available. Yet others believe that this supported safety is what encourages addiction. Personally, I love fantasy sports. My friends and I have a soccer league simulation that extends to various players in the Graded high school and some teachers as well. It’s just for fun: no money is involved. Other students participate in a baseball contest where there are chances to win $5.6 million dollars, and it’s completely free to play.

Where do we draw the line on fantasy sports? What about just doing it for fun? Can addictions arise from this exciting game? You tell me, sports fans—any success story in fantasy sports is always welcome, mainly because I want to believe that it’s just me who never wins. Good luck, everyone, and don’t spend all of your allowance betting on SPFC…

sports

The Buenos Aires Tournament Graded’s international friendly

Andrea Ferreira

E

leven girls and twelve guys headed off to play a friendly

girls played first at 1:15 and then the guys. Following the varsity

match in Argentina in early September. This wasn’t the first

soccer tradition, before the game we read a quote. Facing a

time this friendly tournament between Lincoln and Graded

local club team, River, our girls team lost. Next, it was time for

had taken place. A few years back,

the guy team to play against one of

Graded hosted Lincoln with the

Lincoln’s teams. In an exciting game

other schools in the SPHSL coming

the boys won 2-0, with goals by the

to play. Having just enough people

Ramos brothers.

to play (and the boys team having

Later, we went to the nice

only one sub), coupled with more

Unicenter Mall for dinner along with

than half of the first string missing

our Lincoln hosts and the group from

(it was the same weekend as the

UAS (Uruguayan American School).

PGC retreat), no one knew what to

After another exhausting day we met

expect at this tournament.

with our host families in the main gym.

Thursday Both teams left school

Saturday

early on Thursday led by the varsity

Saturday was another early

coaches Ney, Ricardo, and Cris Cruz.

morning, with all teams having two

While the majority of the students

games. The first game was the girls’

had never been to Argentina be-

at 9:30, against another fierce com-

fore, both teams had some former

petitor, local club team Los Andes.

Lincoln (the American School in

The girls suffered another devastat-

Buenos Aires) students in the mix.

Elena Jaramillo ing loss. The boys kept their win-

With the typical airport chaos, the

ning streak going, beating the other

teams reached Argentina later than expected. Exhausted, we

Lincoln team. After lunch, both teams had time to rest before

were cheerfully greeted by our Lincoln host families at close to

the next games at 2:15.

midnight. The girls were all smiles despite the two-hour wait.

For their final game, the girls played against host Lin-

After saying goodbye to the team we went to our families’

coln. The most physical game of the tournament for them, the

houses and slept.

girls were able to pull through with a 1-0 win after a goal from Alyssa Ferreira off a pass from captain Ale Lima. Meanwhile

Friday

the boys suffered their only loss by a score of 2-1 against the Our hosts had a normal school day and we had tours

Uruguayan team. After this, Lincoln and Graded played friendly

scheduled, so wake-up came bright and early at seven o’clock.

combination games (where players from each team are mixed

We arrived at school at around 7:40. After a quick team meet-

and the new teams scrimmage each other) for the next hour.

ing we boarded the buses to visit one of Buenos Aires’s main

After showering, the Graded athletes and some Lincoln

streets with lots of stores and shopping. Next we headed to the

students went to the local women’s basketball team final, and

La Boca stadium, which many notable soccer players, like Diego

then spent the last night at the new DOT shopping center.

Maradona, call home. We went on a tour around the stadium

Like the other nights, at 10:30 the athletes reunited with host

were we got to experience sitting in the top seats and going on

families in the gym.

the field, and visiting an area that resembled a Hall of Fame, with memorabilia from La Boca’s finest players. When we left

On Sunday morning athletes sadly said goodbye to the host families.

the stadium, we headed back to Lincoln for game-time. The

the talon • 31

sports

Everybody Wants a Mohawk

How Neymar’s hairstyle has influenced thousands of Brazilians Rafael Rocha

I

t is the final game of the 2011

him. However, one of the main

Libertadores Cup, arguably

differences between Neymar’s

considered the most valuable

and Beckham’s mohawks is that

championship in Latin American

the former’s is much larger

soccer. In the stands, millions

and spikier, while the latter’s

of Peixe (Santos) fans root for

was shorter and more natural-

their team to beat Penarol and

looking.

take home the coveted title.

The public fascination for

But these are not just

famous soccer players’ hairstyles

any fans. Some of these young

is not limited to simply the mo-

supporters base their hairstyles

hawk; Roberto Baggio’s mullets

on Santos’ most popular player,

became very popular in the 90’s

Neymar, whose mohawk has be-

in Italy, Zinedine Zidane’s shaved

come an element of pop culture

head inspired many French lads

in Brazil. Neymar “fever” has

and Ronaldo’s arch of hair on Globoesporte

become so popular that even rival teams’ fans have started to copy it.

But what made Neymar’s hairstyle so popular? Was it Neymar’s talent alone that inspired so many young Brazilians to

the front part of his head with a

shaved back of the head served as an inspiration for numerous Brazilians in 2002, a year when the Brazilian national team won the World Cup.

wear it? The answer is not exactly known but, when interviewed

Many of these popular hairstyles are specifically de-

by Globo Esporte, young Santos fan Victor Ramalho said that

signed as marketing tools for the players. As Fernando Moreno,

the haircut is paying off, stating that some people “stop him

a famous Argentinean hairdresser who has cut hair for Neymar,

in the streets for an autograph,” and that he’s “a little embar-

Brazilian coach Mano Menezes, and goalkeeper Victor put it,

rassed, but he does give it.” Neymar has also converted fans to

“the good player is the one who can take care of his image and

root for Santos. One of these is Lucas Duarte, 13; when asked

set worldwide trends. Neymar is doing that. It’s about fashion,

by Terra about it, he said that he changed from a Corinthians

which can also be very important for the fans.” Indeed, fashion

to a Santos fan “mainly because of Neymar. I decided to honor

can equal popularity in the realm of soccer. Ganso, Neymar’s

him with this hairstyle.”

teammate, has seen his popularity eclipsed due to the market-

The impact of the Neymar “look” is also being felt in hair salons throughout the country. Professional hairdressers

ing being predominantly concentrated on the young nineteenyear-old.

explain that Neymar’s mohawk is slightly different from the

At the end of the day, the question remains: how long

traditional, inspired by Native Americans. Cosme, Neymar’s

will mohawk mania last in Brazil? Of course, the answer is tenta-

hairdresser, has become a celebrity himself. Before the final

tive, but based on the scouting and wooing from European teams

Libertadores game, he helped style, cut and trim dozens of

of Santos’ young star, one would guess that as soon as Neymar

mohawks for local fans. Of course, that wouldn’t have ever

leaves the country for greener pastures on the other side of the

happened if not for Neymar.

Atlantic Ocean, the mohawk’s popularity will gradually fade.

Although Neymar’s inspiring mohawk may feel like a

Neymar could even change his hairstyle sooner or later. In a

first in soccer, it is just another example of how a player can

different scenario, he could serve as a sort of pioneer, helping

influence a huge number of people with a particular hairstyle.

spread the mohawk’s popularity for many years in Brazil. All

Another that comes to mind is David Beckham, who like Neymar,

we can do is wait and see.

wore a mohawk through various points of his career, inspiring thousands of young British soccer fans who aspired to be like

32 • the talon