ETC

LASA EZINE

ETC Entertainment That Counts

0:00

3:00

Meet the Staff

etc.

2

About Us:

We put this magazine together for your enjoyment. That, and a grade for our ezine class.

Nadia R.

Hey! I’m Nadia. I wrote the feature on So Sweet The Hour, the opinion piece called Musical Affect, and the New Moon Review.

Hmm... I hate my picture. I like chihuahuas. I love Taylor Lautner. I love making people laugh.

I love my friends. I like to love things(obviously). I mean that’s really all you need to know, right?

DJ House

DJ, a most interesting fellow was born right here in Austin, Texas.

His future predetermined by his name, he naturally developed an avid love of House music, as well as numerous other genres of electronic dance music. Quite frankly, he is, overall, a pretty good bro, who has some major skills at dancing to the harder styles of music, especially jumpstyle.

Onno R.

An insane person who is by far the craziest in the group. He likes to stalk people, eat babies and raw squirrels that he finds in the park, lighting fires, and writing in the third person. Has been known to carry weapons around with him at all times, and if made mad, will stop at nothing to bring the pain.

On another note, loves taking long walks on the beach.

Callie S.

So my name is Callie. I’m a proud Austinite, and I’ve lived here all my life. I wrote the book banning column, the story about the Alamo Drafthouse and the story about the top movies of 2009. I love to read and write, especially fantasy, and I like going to the movies with my friends. I liked working on this magazine because it combined some of my favorite things. I guess some might call me the most serious of the group or a bit of a nerd, but I think I can live with that.

etc.

Table of Contents

etc.

Menu

So Sweet the Hour.....4 Musical Effect.....6 Dinner and a Show.....8 Movies Made in Austin.....10 Top Movies of ‘09.....12 Top Movies of the Year Quiz.....14 Director’s Interview.....16 Upcoming Movie Previews.....17 New Moon Review......18 Free to Read.....20 Censorship.....22 Teh Powerz of teh Internetz.....24 Celebrity Exploitation.....26 About Us.....1

3

> > > > > > > > > > > > > >

Music

etc.

4

Photo Credit: eddywashere.com

SO SWEET THE HOUR By: Nadia R.

A story of five boys from San Antonio, Texas, working hard to reach their dreams.

“

If I write one song that had an impact on someone’s life, then that’s better than dozens of songs that didn’t affect anyone.”

Ian Davis, lead singer and pianist of So Sweet The Hour, says.

So Sweet The Hour, a quintet band based in San Antonio, Texas, was formed about a year and a half ago. The boys all had the same love of

music and now getting to perform their own music on stage is “the best.”

They put a lot of time and effort into establishing their own unique sound based from all genres of music, resulting in their pop/rock sound.

“Take pieces and different styles from every genre and that’s So Sweet The Hour,” Ian said.

In the beginning, they started out like any

other band. Practicing in garages and really anywhere they could find.

Their first practice, in fact, was in a vacant building above a Mexican restaurant. During these practices they prepared to record songs to go on their EP “Ready When You Are,” writing lyrics and music to put themselves out there.

“Once we got the money we started rent-

etc. ing rehearsal studios,” says Ian.

“It was really once we said we were committed to doing this and then we started collecting money to rent rehearsal studios,” says Damien Rene, back up singer and guitarist.

In the rehearsal studio they recorded “Ready When You Are.” Now, back in the studio, they are working with producer Mack Damon and coproducer Bryan Williams on their full-length debut album “A Better Way To Say Okay.”

On their official Myspace page, Damon says "I've never met kids so young with so much talent, they amaze all the other artists I work with... more than any other artist, these kids are having the time of their lives.”

The whole band has been working harder and longer on “A Better Way

Music To Say Okay” than their EP album. The album was originally scheduled to come out in December of last year, but the boys say they needed the extra time to make every song the way they want it.

“We want every song to be what we want,” says Davis. “[With “Ready When You Are”] it took us two days to record each song.” Now, with their new album, they say its taking two months for each song.

Working on the album, the boys say they find more pressure than before and arguments break out a lot.

“It’s a grind,” says Ian. The grind is the band wondering about things like how good the album is going to be. They begin blamming each other for mistakes.

“But we all love each other and we need each other,” says

So Sweet The Hour is not just your average “new born” band. They work hard at what they do to be successful.

5 Ian. “Every guy in the band is like my brother; my best friend.”

So Sweet The Hour is not just your average “new born” band. They work hard at what they do to be successful.

On their Myspace page, they also write, "We want to show everyone that we aren't just kids, that we're very serious about our music, but this is fun at the same time and what we love to do.”

“We want to be as big and successful as we can be,” says Damien.

“I want to write a verse or a song that changes someone’s life [for the better],” says Ian. “I don’t wanna be the most famous singer out there without having affected someone.”

If you would like to experience their music for yourself, visit their official Myspace page— www.myspace.com/ sosweetthehour—to listen to music from “Ready When You Are” and some songs from their debut album.

etc.

Music

6

Musical

A viewpoint on some of the most popular music in America.

By: Nadia R.

I

t’s always awkward when I’m sitting in the car with both my parents and a song I like comes on. "She say he so sweet make her wanna lick the rapper; So I let 'er lick the rapper; Shawty say I lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lolo-lo-look like a lollipop; She say I lo-lo-lolo-lo-lo-look like a lollipop; Lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lolo-look like a lollipop; She say I ..... like a lollipop." In case you haven't heard that song, it's called Lollipop

by Lil Wayne. There’s just this awkward silence that is filled with vulgar lyrics and a good beat.

I’m sure many people have been in this same situation. But there really isn’t anything we can do about it, is there? Performers put things like this out and they become hits. Every-

one hears them, downloads them on to their music players, and the “teachings” in the song sink in.

I hear that song, Lollipop, played a lot on the radio. I liked it at first because it had a catchy tune to it. But I was oblivious to the meaning of the words.

Not only are most rap and/or hip-hop songs about sex; they also bring up subjects like gangs, violence, and drugs. Some teenagers listen to this and

think it’s okay to do all this, but it's not. Performers that kids and teenagers look up to should really think about what they are putting out for their fans to hear.

Rap and hip-hop aren’t the only genres of music that have been found to negatively influence young people. Studies show that heavy metal actually affects people more than hip-hop and rap music. For example, a study done by a student, David Merrill, showed the affects of music on mice trying to learn new things.

Merrill had one group of mice listen to classical mu-

There’s just this awkward silence that is filled with vulgar lyrics and a good beat.

etc.

Music

Affect

7

Marilyn Manson sic for 24 hours a day and another group listening to heavy metal music. Then he timed the mice while they ran through mazes to see whether or not the music affected their learning speed.

It turned out that he had to cut the first experiment short because the “heavy metal mice” were killing each other. In a second experiment, the mice that listened to Mozart for 10 hours a day improved their puzzle solving skills. The "heavy metal mice" puzzle skills were alot lower than they started with. Heavy metal music has been shown to cause anger towards others and even suicide. Music like that of Marilyn Manson, a heavy metal artist, is "evil and satanic,” messing with kids minds.

• Born on January 15, 1969 • Born as Brian Hugh Warner • Believe it or not his father was a Roman Catholic • Attended Heritage Chrisitan School from first grade to tenth grade.

• WEIRD FACT: In November of 2007, papers were filed saying that he purchased a child’s skeleton and masks made of human skin. (hmm...psycho?)

• Dated Actresses Rose McGowan and Evan Rachel Wood Photo by: Festival Eurockéennes

Movies

etc.

8

Dinner and a Show Austin theater chain coming soon to a town near you

By Callie S.

I

nside the theater a crowd waits impatiently for the doors to open. The large lobby is decorated for a 50’s, sci-fi type feel, with UFOs and airplanes hanging from the ceiling, and paintings of the battle of the Alamo hanging on the walls.

T h e h u g e crowd of adults is anxious to see the kid’s movie “Where the Wild Things Are.” The one place where lines are short is the consession stand. This is a typical Sunday for the

Alamo Drafthouse Theater. is now not so local. With locations

in San Antonio and Houston, and its first out of Texas location opening in Virginia and more soon to come, the Drafthouse is expanding fast.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Eddie Nelson, manager of the Drafthouse’s South Lamar location in Austin, said. “Unfortunately it’s not this company that’s doing it.”

Tim and Karrie League, founders of the Drafthouse, sold the name about six years ago.

A BBQ” and “Porky’s Pepperoni,” as well as candy, popcorn, salads company called Triple Trap curand more. If you want something rently has the franchising rights, during the movie, write your order but the Leagues still own the Auson a card for your waiter to take. tin Drafthouses at Lamar, the Ala However the once uniquely mo Ritz and the Alamo Village.

“There hadn’t been any Austin experience of the Drafthouse

An Austin original, the Drafthouse is a theater that will bring its customers food during the movie. The menu includes burgers like the “Kevin Bacon letuce and tomato,” pizzas like the “Poultrygeist,” “Blazing Saddles

The large lobby is decorated for a 50’s sci-fi type feel, with UFOs and airplanes hanging from the ceiling, and paintings of the Alamo hanging on the walls.

etc.

Movies

9

Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar in Austin, Texas. Photo from Tim Patterson on flickr.com.

more Alamo’s open up in six years so that’s kind of the reason we sold the franchise,” Nelson said. “If we hadn’t sold the franchising we’d probably still be downtown. Well the downtown probably would have closed so we’d only have the Village.”

The Drafthouse also hosts a variety of events drawing crowds of all kinds of people. Every year they hold the Fantastic Fest film festival at the South Lamar location. Fantastic Fest has held the world premires of “Eagle Eye,” “There Will be Blood” and “Apocalypto,” and has had advanced showings of many other films. In

October they held Thrillerfest, where they taught a large group of people the Thriller dance, attempting to break the world record for the most people dancing the Thriller at once. They also host Master Pancake Theater, where four comedians will hold a comedy show around the movie being played.

“Definitely the Master Pancake would be by far the biggest [event we do],” Nelson said.

“I find it’s hilarious because we’re sticklers about people not talking during the movie and our longest running event is four people talking throughout the entire movie. They sell out every show they ever do.”

While in most cases it would be likely that people would be upset about the franchising because of a fear of loss of the company’s personality, it seems that few people feel this way about the Drafthouse. Scanning online, most people are commenting about how they can’t wait for a Drafthouse location near them. Ask around Austin, and nobody seems to mind sharing the theater with other states.

Soon, Americans all over the country will get to enjoy the full experience unique to the Drafthouse.

etc.

Movies

10

Movies Made in Austin

Texas Chainsaw Massacre Each installment of the famous Texas Chainsaw Massacre series were all aptly filmed in Austin Texs. A hallmark of the slasher genre, these films chronicle the last days of the lives of a few unfortunate teens as they are unwittingly picked off by leatherface and his trademark chainsaw.

A Scanner Darkly A Scanner Darkly is an interesting, unique movie for a number of reasons. For one, it is animated over digital footage of the actors. This technique was also used recently in “Beowulf.� In addition, it is set in a cyberpunk, dystopain world which only adds to the intrigue of the film.

Movies

etc.

Sin City Sin City, based on the graphic novel about the epynonymous city, written

by Frank Miller was filmed in Austin.

Miller also co-directed the movie with Robert Rodriguez, who is known for filming movies in his native Texas.

Other films made by Robert Rodriguez in Texas include From Dusk till Dawn, Once upon a Time in Mexico, Spy Kids, and many many others.

11

The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl Yet another film made in Austin by Robert Rodriguez, Shark Boy and Lava Girl is yet another foray in the world of childrens movies. Like his earlier work, Spy Kids, Shark Boy and Lava Girl follows a young male/female duo in thier quest to, more or less, save the world.

Miss Congeniality Starring Sandra Bullock and filmed in Austin, Miss Congeniality provides a good laugh, ESPECIALLY if you live in Texas. Bullock takes the role of a FBI agent posing as a beauty contestant in an attempt to bring criminals to justice. As expected, hilarity ensues.

Movies

etc.

12

Top Box Office Hits of 2009: Here are the 2009 movies that made the most money in the box office.

Up

This animated 3-D adventure ranks third on the chart, earning around $292 million. “Up” tells the story of a man named Carl, who turns his house into a giant floating ballon, and Russel, the young Wilderness Explorer who stows away on the flight. The two are carried to South America, where they meet explorer Charles Muntz. There the adventure starts.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

This movie takes the top of the list.

It made over $400 million in the box office. “Revenge of the Fallen” is the sequal to “Transformers,” both of which are based off the original comic book series from the 1980’s about robots from space that transform into cars and other machines.

The Hangover

This hilarious comedy takes the number four spot, with box office earnings of around $276 million. A group a guys go to Vegas for a bachelor party. When they wake up the next morning, none of them can remember the night before. Also, the groom-to-be has disapeared and it’s a day before the wedding. What happened that night? We may never know.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

It’s no surprise the sixth Harry Potter movie made the list, finishing second with earnings over $301 million. Based off J.K. Rowling’s popular book series, Harry’s back for another year at Hogwarts, full of magic and adventure. The down side? Harry’s a year away from graduation.

Star Trek

This sci-fi film finishes the list earning around $257 million. The movie follows James T. Kirk and his partners on the spaceship USS Enterprise. Kirk and the others must face evil aliens in a fight to save Earth. The movie takes you back to how the T.V. show got started.

It takes you back to the begining, and sci-fi fans are sure to love it.

etc.

Movies

13

Editors’ Picks:

Forget the box office, the staff at ETC. has it’s own top five movie list for the year.

Zombieland

Easily one of the funniest movies of the year. It is kind of short, and can get slow at times, but is still an over-all great movie. A lot of good pop culture references and a cameo

by Bill Murray are selling points for the movie. “Zombieland” is increadibly funny and has anything you could possibly want in a zombie movie. All-in-all, an amzing film

District 9

Star Trek

The big screen adaptation of the short film, “Alive in Joburg,” carries more weight than the special effects laden trailers would lead you to believe. Packed with incredible action sequences, amazing visual effects, a wonderful plot, and a moral message dealing with racism and xenophobia, “District 9” is one of the greatest movies of 2009.

The Trekkies on staff agree, the movie is true to the original series.

“Star Trek” has amazing special effects and is free of continuity errors. It also scores big with fans who have not seen the show. This movie goes above and beyond all expectations, so don’t worry about it not living up to its hype.

“Star Trek” is an awesome movie that deserve a spot on our list.

9

Paranormal Activity

While this movie did fall short of expectations, it was not a bad movie.The animation was good and the concept was solid, but the plot had some definate holes. It did not have a clear audiance, with intense action but a plot closer to a kids’ movie. It was good but we were just expecting something else. It’s still a movie worth seeing.

Despite all the hype, most of our staff members did not find this movie was all that scary. It was a good story that was told well. It was funny and suspensful, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. We just did not think it was as scary as it was made out to be. It’s a good movie, and we highly recomend it, we’re just the people who weren’t scared by it.

Movies

etc.

14

Top Five Movies QUIZ

1. Bradley Cooper and Justin Bartha’s third film together, after Failure to Launch (2006) and New York, I Love You (2009).

Answer:___ 2 This is one of two movies in this series to be rated PG. Answer:___ 3. Tyler Perry’s first movie role outside one of his own projects.

Answer: ___ 4. Shooting for this movie began one day after its prequel won the MTV award for “Best Movie”

Top Five movies of 2009 A. Transformers: Revenge of the fallen

Answer:___

B. Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince

5.The first Pixar film to be given a PG rating since The Incredibles (2004).

C. Up D. The Hangover

Answer:___

E. Star Trek

etc.

Movies

Of the Year

15

Movies

etc.

16

Director’s Interview

By Onno R.

O

n a stage, misplaced dusty props everywhere. At the left corner there is a disheveled and old chair that appears to be falling apart at the seams.

Standing smack dab in the middle of the stage, in view of anyone sitting in the audience, is a pine wood table. Scuttled around the stage are small props, like flashlights,candles, a dead body and a gun. Under the spotlight is the hidden star of the play.

Laurel stands on the stage where her play The Understudy was performed. The play is about a group of film students who are shooting a movie when one of the students dies. At 16, Laurel D. has already written 10 full plays and still has ideas for many many more.

Laurel is a director and writer at heart. She has written scripts that are as realistic as the life of a silent film actor, to stories as unrealistic as a cuddly zom-

bie. She gets ideas and inspiration from evertything around her.

“I don’t really search for ideas. I seem to get inspiration and epiphanies randomly from reading and things going on in the world.”

Though writing and directing scripts for her schools TV

having personal lives. But it’s fun and you learn a lot really quickly.”

“It was very fun, but very stressful at the same time. Our set was a school, and it was early August, close to time for school to start, so we had to work around other people and areas where we were not allowed to go sometimes. I liked the process, and I liked filming. It was my first script where I was the director and actually involved in the filming, and I was pretty much of a perfectionist, so I think everyone hated me by the end of the day, because I was so particular. I realized it was going to be timeconsuming, etc., but I learned quickly, too” she said about her play “The Understudy.”

Having found out about show, Thunderboom takes up a the world of writing in 8th grade, lot of her time, and most of her she enjoyed the process so much social life, leaving her with lit- that she is still writing today. tle free time, she had this to say.

“We write the scripts on Monday and try to finish filming and editing by Thursday, so it can get pretty hectic and keep us from really

Having found out about the world of writing in 8th grade, she enjoyed the process so much that she is still writing.

etc.

Movies

Movie Previews

Movies the staff is looking forward to 1). Maximum

Ride, 2010

Avatar

James Cameron’s new film is much awaited. Set on the planet of Pandora, a beautiful paradise inhabited by the Na’vi. Humans come to mine a rare mineral that can solve Earths energy crisis. The Na’vi are against the humans coming to their planet, as they will ruin its beauty. Because of Pandora’s toxic air that only the Na’vi can breath, the humans create the Avatar program. Jack Sully, a former Marine now confined to a wheelchair, decides to become an avatar. The Avatar program mixes human DNA with Na’vi DNA to create a remotely controlled body that can survive the toxic air. Jack’s mission is to infiltrate the Na’vi. Jack switches sides when a beautiful female Na’vi saves his life. After accepting the Na’vi way of life, he finally becomes one of them, just in time to lead them in a battle against the humans. Release 12\18\09

17

Legion

If there is a god, what will happen if he loses faith in mankind? In this epic movie based on the book by Scott Stewart, God has lost faith in humans and has sent his epic Legion of angels to wipe out mankind. An epic war is at hand between the holy beings and the doomed ones. The main characters are a group of motley small towners in the middle of nowhere; they are the last line of defense against the angels.

With their only spiritual ally being the archangel Michael, (Paul Bettany) they must send these angels back to the opposite of hell. It looks like a great horror movie, with lots of epic battles with bullets and swords. Releases 2010.

Avatar pictures from alfredituzz :B on flickr.com, Legion poster from siliconchaos on flickr.com, Director graphic www.lumaxart.com

2). Percy

Jackson, Febuary 2010 3). Eclipse, June 30 2010 4).The Book of

Eli, January 15 2010

5). Alice in Wonderland, March 5, 2010

Movies

etc.

18 Hate it or love it, the second motion picture installment of the Twilight Saga earned $72.7 million dollars in its opening day, overthrowing the record previously set by “The Dark Knight”. This is “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”

REVIEW: NEW MOON

sensation, Taylor Lautner-- befriends Bella after Edward leaves.

ber of the Quileute tribe in Forks

By: Nadia R

I

Washington. Bella, played by Kris-

n the recent and highly anticipated

Jacob is 16 and a mem-

second

mo-

tion picture installment of

This void of Edward allows

another of the books main char- her newly found adrenaline rush.

And so the love triangle begins.

acters to be developed.

the Twilight saga, “New Moon”, the story of Bella and Edward’s

ten Stewart, asks Jacob to satisfy

In

New

Moon,

Though she doesn’t need

we see a lot more of. Jacob Black. much help with that, since she is

love meets a temporary dead end. Jacob-- played by young teen

being chased by a vicious vampire,

Movies

etc.

Victoria throughout the movie.

The movie features a good

Although I enjoyed the

19 good fun story. People just have

movie, I wanted to bring up some to go in with an open mind.

soundtrack, with songs from art- of the actor’s skills. Which were Imagination brought the books ists like The Killers and Death

bad, for lack of a better word. alive. Chris Weitz tapped into that

Cab For Cutie. The soundtrack

One main person I had a problem imagination and created the ad-

even has a grammy nomination with was Kristen Stewart. Kristen venture-filled movie, “New Moon.” for “Best Compilation Sound- Stewart’s job is to portray Bella.

MEET THE CAST

track Album For Motion Picture.” Yes Bella is supposed to be an awk

Action is shown through- ward character, but Stewart’s acting

out this movie. All of the stunts was at times so awkward that the were reportedly done by live peo- audience ple, be it the actors or stunt dou-

felt

uncomfortable.

However, I really liked

bles. CGI was not used in fight Stewart’s and Lautner’s on screen scenes. It was only used for the compatibility. This made their werewolves in their wolf form. growing love more realistic. They

Despite the hype and pop- seemed

like they were perfect

ularity of New Moon, it isn’t for for each other and this created

people looking for an Oscar wor- the right kind of tension and susthy film. This movie is for young pense because audience memteenagers or just people in gen- bers wanted to find out if they

Kristen Stewart

as Bella Swan

Taylor Lautner

as Jacob Black

eral who want a twist on a good were going to end up together.

love story. The plot attracts these

people. The “hot guys” in the

So, whether you’re 17 or

70, I really think anyone can en-

movie also attract many viewers. joy this movie. It’s funny and a

Bella asks Jacob to help satisfy her newly found adrenaline rush. And so the love triangle begins.

Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen

Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen

Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria Peter Facinelli as Carlisle Cullen

Photo of Robert Pattinson from Nicogenin on flickr, photo of Kristen Stewart from lukeford.net, photo of Taylor Lautner from twilight foxdie on flickr.com, photo of Ashley Greene from cybermelli on flickr.com photo of Rachelle Lefevre from jackdoc1 on flickr.com, photo of Peter Facinelli from OPUS hotel on flickr.com.

Books

etc.

20

Free to Read:

Should books be banned from schools?

By Callie S.

M

y favorite thing to do when I have free time is read.

Reading is my ultimate pleasure, and in my opinion it’s the hard, down-to-earth books that are the best. But there are plenty of times I can’t go to the school library to get a good book

to read because they won’t have the book I want. That’s because it’s probably been banned.

Book banning is absolutely wrong. According to an article called “Banned Books in the United States,” from Alder and Robin Books, it happens nearly every week in the United States. Students should be able to read what they want.

Some banned books, including Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” and “The

Merchant of Venice,” and George Orwell’s “1984,” are classic works that have been studied in English classes. Huckleberry Finn is banned for it’s use of the “n-word,” Twelfth Night was banned for one of the women characters posing as a boy for the majority of the play, Merchant of Venice was banned for it’s “antiSemitic” portrayal of the Jewish character Shylock, and 1984 was banned for explicit sex scenes.

These works are great pieces of literature to study, and can be enjoyable and beneficial for students.

Other books that have been banned include J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code,” and Lauren Myracle’s “TTYL.” Because these books are still available at just about any

etc. bookstore, as is almost any “banned” book out there, if kids want to read them, they will. It’s easy for them to go to the public library or the nearest bookstore and get a copy. This makes banning books useless, and possibly harmful if kids start reading

Books

People say that the books are inappropriate for kids because they have material they shouldn’t be exposed to. But if teachers and parents are open with kids, saying what’s wrong or controversial in a book,

Books should be offered to everyone in a way that they can handle the situations within.

them with no guidance. If they want to read the books, they will.

Some of the reasons books have been banned can be pointless as students get older. According to an article “Banned Books Online” at the Online Books Page a version of Little Red Riding Hood was banned because it mentioned Little Red bringing wine to her grandmother. Nobody was drinking the wine, so I don’t see any problems. Many kids know what wine is, and a lot of them probably know not to drink it. Several books are banned solely for profanity.

To be realistic, by the time kids are in seventh or eighth grade they’ve heard almost every bad word out there.

the kids will most likely understand. Eventually they’ll encounter the issues on their own, in real life or in books, and be totally unprepared for it. If a book is way too mature for a kid, then parents can tell the kids why they should wait until they are older.

I’ve read many of these banned books, and they shouldn’t be banned.

They should be offered to everyone in a way that they can handle the situations within. A lot of them are amazing stories. If every book were written totally clean and kid-friendly than we’d have no good, downto-earth novels. So let our students read because they have every right to.

21 Top 5 Banned Books

1)

“And Tango

Makes Three” by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardsin. Banned for homosexuality, sexism and religious viewpoint.

2)

“The Chocolate War” by Robert Cormier. Banned for sexualism, violence, and profanity.

3)

“Olive’s Ocean”

by Kevin Henkes.

Banned for sexuality and profanity.

Golden Com4) “The pass” by Phillip

Pullman. Banned for it’s religious viewpoint.

5)

“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”

by Mark Twain. Banned for racism. (information from Washington Independant)

etc.

Free Speech

22

Censorship and Freedom Of Speech that he’s awesome so I want to be awesome like him by smoking.”

Do parents really think that that is how their kids think? No, we ight now, parents want think, “ Oh my god! Someone’s their kids to be literate smoking! what a loser!” because and smart. They also we’ve always been told that cigwant to shield them from what arettes and tobacco are evil and

by Onno R.

R

they might consider evil, sinful and degenerate. They want to censor parts of textbooks and some of the news.

They don’t want their children hearing about atrocities of war and other terrible things that will corrupt their innocence or give them bad ideas. But when parents censor out what children see, they make it difficult for the kids to adapt to the world.

I think that censorship is useless, arbitrary and should be gotten rid of.

that we cant smoke this and blah blah blah. Of course there is also the censorship in music and other such devices. The parents and school organizations ban books because the The censorship of

As children, some of us are music in other countries, like Isplanted constantly in front of the rael, is becoming commonplace.

TV for hours a day watching car- of course, its not just the media. toons. Afterwards we talk about in schools, teachers and adminwhat we have seen for hours to istrators are cracking down on our friends and family. Nowadays students who disobey the dress parents are caring and wondering code for wearing profanity or nuabout what their kids are exposed dity on their clothes. Again, is the to, They want to censor and exclude profanity harmful to people? Is parts of movies, books, music, and the nudity hurting people? if it is, TV. Take cigarettes for example. why does it need to be censored?

People didn’t want their children But if the government to be exposed to smoking by acwere to withhold informators, because they are impressionable and would think, “Oh, my act- tion, how would the public ing hero, so and so, smokes. I think know about it? Using Ro-

swell as an example, in 1949, it was speculated that aliens landed in the Roswell desert. There was no evidence of aliens. People also thought that the government was covering up whatever happened there. The more evasive the government seemed, the more conspiracies and weird ideas came about. My point being if aliens were to land on earth, and the government catches the aliens and doesn’t tell anyone that there are aliens, how would anyone know if there were aliens and that we were under attack.

Now some people think that people should have to censor out what they say. If someone yells fire in a movie theater, its up to the people who hear that cry, what they will do with that information.

Under the first amendment, you cannot say or tell people to act in a violent manner.

This is censorship, which means that the first amendment is a violation of itself.

Argument against free speech. Now, my friends and i all think that we shouldn’t have free speech anymore because, well, we think America abused free speech

Free Speech

etc.

Why, maybe because they have such paranoid theories after 9/11.

This is because they believe that information sent online can give “strategic points for terrorists.” like a spoiled child. We did not restrain ourselves, kept within the limits, boundaries of decency. It is OK to speak freely, but not to offend, just for the sake of offending or shocking. all over the Internet, we see unfunny videos that are demeaning to Russians, Mexicans, blacks, Pakistanis, women, homosexuals, you name it. You are free to make jokes about people with aids, Hitler and the holocaust, but just because you are free to do so, you are also free not to do so. If you burp at a dinner party, the government does not arrest you. The other guests make clear to you that you crossed a line. If you are offensive, unfunny, mean in the media, others, not the government, should point that out strongly. Not get sidetracked into an argument about being allowed to be offensive, but just to point out very strong-

ly that it is shameful, stupid, unbecoming and so on.

In 1996, the CIA tried to censor the Internet. they imposed the child

The worst thing about censorship is crap onl i n e protection . This failed horribly when the Supreme Court deemed this as unconstitutional amendment. This is because they feel it violated the first amendment when it would severely punish those

23 who posted material considered harmful to minors.

Still today, the government spies and blocks sites and information. Why, maybe because they have such paranoid theories after 9/11. this is because they believe that information sent online can give “strategic points for terrorists.” (note: I am making assumptions for the terrorist threat. Who knows, maybe we could be under attack. But if we are, we should know so that we can spend our last moments with family.) .Now censorship isn’t good. If the silent corporations have their way, we wont be able to say or express our opinions and emotions. Its like the 50s, when everyone thought that communism would take over America and no one would have their free speech anymore. But there may be some good to come from censoring parts of movies and TV.

etc.

Online

24

Teh Powerz of teh Internetz

By DJ House

O

ne float comes along bearing character’s from Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, a show enjoyed by thousands of young American children. The announcer proclaims that the Foster’s cast will perform a popular song. About halfway through the song, the music stops, and out of the house on the float walks Rick Astley, singing his hit “Never gonna give you up.”

Thus the highlight of the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade occurred to some as an unusual and odd act, but to others, it was an

entertaining and monumental leap forward in spreading the culture of internet memes. Rick Astley Rickrolled America. Rickrolling (a meme) is a bait-and-switch trick on the internet, in which someone posts a link on a website that they say will lead to a video, picture or another website. When someone clicks on the link, they are instead taken to a video of Rick Astley’s “Never gonna give you up” music video.

Rickrolling is one of many popular so called “memes” that are pervasive on the internet, having originated on 4chan, a popular

imageboard. An internet meme is an idea, image macro, or some other bit of nonsensical culture that is spread about the internet to large groups of people by word of mouth (ie. being posted on forums and imageboards). Many other well-known memes include lolcats (pictures of cats with funny captions), “all your base are belong to us” (a reference to a poorly translated Japanese video game), and “It’s over 9000!!!” (a phrase found in an episode of the anime, Dragon Ball Z). All of these memes appear to have no real significance, as their content

Online

etc. is largely irrelevant. However, the culture of memes has enormous significance, these largely irrelevant images and such have become an enormous cultural phenomenon.

While many people do not know of memes, they have heard of rickrolls (especially after last November) and have been rickrolled themselves as this particular meme is pervasive on the internet. As a matter of fact, this has become a cultural phenomenon.

Oddly enough, the people who know the most about memes aren’t those who have been adults since the birth of the internet, it’s those who are just now adolescent.

When asked if she knew of memes, C. Durham, an 8th grader, responded “Memes are for dumb people who live on the internet.” whereas D. House, a 50 year old, replied “What?” While the popularity of memes is a recent development, thus catering to younger generations, memes have been around since the induction of the internet to the public. As the current generation of adolescents are basically growing up with memes, these current years seem to be the first where knowledge of memes is really becoming mainstream. In the next decade, knowledge of memes will likely increase, as we live in an age where to live without computers is nigh impossible, and on the internet, memes are pervasive.

With more real life exhibitions of memes, such as Rick Astley rickrolling America, the demonstrations by Anonymous, and ROFL-

con, memes will likely become as well known as the internet itself, among all segments of the population, not just adolescents.

Still, this is not to say memes do not interest adults. One site in particular (that has become a meme) is failblog.org. Frequented by adults and adolescents alike, it showcases the “fails” of society.

Usually, a photo of something funny, absurd, ironic, or misleading is captioned by the word “FAIL” and posted on the site.

Many adults, when asked about failblog.org, responded that they had heard of it, but not of memes.

House, for instance, frequents fail-

25 word these days that you would be hard pressed to find someone who hadn’t heard of L. Ron Hubbard’s religion, especially with it being supported by celebrities such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta. On the internet, the so called Church is even more well known. Project Chanology is a (in)famous movement to attack and overthrow the Church through various means, legal and illegal alike. Protests, DDOS attacks, spam, and numerous other tactics have been used.

Project Chanology is run by the group Anonymous, which also originated on 4chan, from users posting as anonymous users as opposed to specific people. “We are anonymous, we do not forgive, we do not forget, we are legion, expect us,” states B. Pellowski, reciting Anonymous’ motto.

Now while much of Anonymous’ activities are serious, many are considered to be “trolling”. A troll is what it sounds like, someone who intentionally causes harm or annoyance simply for the sake of irritating people. In real life, anyone who insults someone just to see their reaction is often called a troll. These are just many more ways that memes have burst the shackles of 4chan and escaped into the real world.

Memes are pervasive.

Memes have effects in the real world. Memes are known about by numerous demographics, not simply male teens with no life.

Memes are important and are making their way into the real world, piece by piece, meme by meme.

We are legion. Expect us.

This meme has allowed him to quit his job and live comfortably posting other people’s content. blog.org, thereifixedit.com, thisisphotobomb.com regularly, stating, “What do you mean, I probably haven’t heard of these sites?! I visit them everyday!”

Speaking of which, the manager of failblog.org and the rest of the “LOL-sites” (I can haz cheezeburger, Pundit Kitchen, etc.), has no other job than running said sites. This meme has allowed him to quit his job and live comfortably posting other people’s content.

Thus is the power of memes; they can create a living for someone.

Another item which adults and adolescents share knowledge of is the Church of Scientology. Scientology is a common enough

Free Press

etc.

26

Click!

By DJ House

An analysis of tabloids and exploiton of America’s celebrities.

O

ne cannot go into a supermarket to simply buy food anymore. From the second we walk in, we are bombarded by magazines advertising the scandalous affair between celebrity x and celebrity y, or the new kids celebrity z adopted from China. We live in a culture dominated by obsession with other peoples lives and activities. We always wish to keep up on the Joneses, especially when the Joneses are richer or better looking than us. The catch is, nobody likes it when the Joneses keep up on THEM.

There are few things that bug me more than hypocrites, and the people modern society, with their love of judging other peoples lives, while jealously guarding their own, exemplify this sin more than any other. In fact, 75% of all magazines sold in the UK are tabloids (ABC, 2007).1 And while many

of us realize and condemn this, when it comes to learning about Brad’s affair with

whats-her-face, we can’t put the damn thing down.

I think it is safe to say, we all want privacy and security in knowing that no one is constantly watching us or

taking our picture without our permission. Especially when there is a medium as pervasive as the Internet that it can be posted on and seen by everyone. You don’t want embarrassing photos of you posted of you, and neither do celebrities. Celebrities are Human, like you. Come on, have some respect. I mean the irony here is as thick as it gets, with people demanding their right to privacy from the government, and then going to read about other peoples secret lives? Seriously? If you want the government to stop spying on you, stop spying on celebrities.

Perez Hilton, an infamous celebrity blogger has outed celebrities he thinks are gay. If someone is gay and doesn’t tell the world, they probably don’t want someone else telling the world for them, especially with homophobia still being such a large force in America. A per-

etc. fect example of this would be the outing of Lance Bass, the ‘N Sync star.2 Mr. Hilton needs to learn to respect peoples privacy, as do we all. What is even more unfortunate is that the tabloids and Mr. Hilton are often wrong (eg. the time he said Castro died), which leaves the public to try to discover

Free Press sponsible for their actions. I simply point out that YOUR secrets are not laid bare, what you want to stay hidden remains hidden, you are not held responsible for the victimless crimes you commit, but that others might find interesting. So what if Angelina is adopting from Africa again? That’s her

75% of all magazines sold in the UK are tabloids what is true and what isn’t.

And, more often than not, people aren’t willing to.

Exploitation. This word conjures up images of slavery and forced labor, squalor and poverty. However, in America this word has a different definition.

Everyday, peoples lives are exploited by the media, posting images of them in their most private moments, revealing embarrassing secrets, and otherwise destroying their lives. These celebrity’s lives are being ruined just so some trashy magazine can make a buck.

This is exploitation, exploitation for monetary gain.

Now some opponents of this view may point out that celebrities should be held re-

business, not the public’s.

We are addicted to a vile and disgusting habit and we must break it. Like a heroin addict must avoid heroin to break his addiction, we too must avoid taking even a look at these terrible magazines. We must free ourselves from the bondage of this unhealthy obsession with other people’s lives. We must boycott tabloids and turn to more respectable news sources that don’t make money off of others embarrassment.

If we do not, we simply condemn ourselves to living as we have lived, hypocrites reveling in others pain.

27 Worst Celebrity News Sources

1) Perez Hilton: Outs

“suspected” closeted gays. Closeted people don’t want people outing them!!!

2)

TMZ: So obsessed with celebrities that they cover EVERYTHING they do, regardless of its entertainment value.

Magazines in 3) The the Grocery Store: I

can’t even buy milk without hearing about so-andso’s affair! COME ON!