Volume 6 Issue 4

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VOLUME 6 ISSUE 4

IN THIS ISSUE SCHOOL NEWS 1-2 | Movie reviews 3-4 | Music Review 7| Lookbook 9-10 | PHOTOGRAPHY WITH AN AMATEUR 11-12

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FRESHMeN

BY: Danielle Tuazon

In this segment, as a way to start off the semester, the freshmen would like to reflect on their experiences of their first semester at MCHS. This past week, a few seniors gave a presentation about colleges to the freshman AVID classes. The freshmen had the chance of learning more about the IGETC and which courses to take. Thanks to the presentation, a lot of the freshmen felt more knowledgeable and prepared on which classes to take in the future.

This semester certainly created new friendships and bonds for the freshmen. Adelyna Chanthakone says this about her first semester, “This semester certainly helped me create great friendships with many people at MCHS.” I hope your last semester was everything that you hoped for and if it wasn’t, don’t worry! First semester freshman year is always the most difficult! Here’s to a great finish to the year.

juniors

BY: Marina Balaga

Winter break ended and thus began the new spring semester of the 2019-2020 school year. I asked some of the Juniors what they were up to during the winter break. Nicole Catherine Rodrick Marcia said, “ During the break, my family and I went to my cousin’s house to celebrate the New Year. I was also involved in a lot of church activities and made new friends.” Another person had said, “I didn’t really have anything special planned during winter break. I just caught up on sleep and watch some new shows or movies. I also went to family parties and celebrated different things.” Arlene Hickman said, “I went to my aunt’s house in Elk Grove to celebrate a wedding and to celebrate the holidays.” And finally when I asked Olivia Martinez what she had done during break, she had said, “Over the break I just celebrated the holidays with my family and ate lots of food.”

Coming back from winter break, the Junior class also welcomed their new AVID teacher: Dr. Chambliss. Thus far many of the Juniors have said that he is a pretty good AVID teacher. One of the assignments that he had assigned the class was to build their own island and all of the Juniors can say that it was both an interesting and fun assignment to do. I asked some of the Juniors their first impressions of Dr. Chambliss and the assignments he assigned. Jena Tufail had said, “ My first impression of him was that he was so inspiring. When he told us his story of how he went from nothing to something, I was just in utter awe of how both crazy and interesting his life had been. As for the assignments the build your own island assignment was really fun and reminded me of middle school and made me nostalgic.” Both Chau Anh Nguyen and Jaquie Delgadillo had a similar response, but also adding that they thought of Dr. Chambliss’s life very interesting and that many of the stories he told were unbelievable.

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sophomores

BY: Arlene Hickman

Welcome to the new decade sophomores! During the break, many students went out of town/state to visit family and one even went out of the country. It is officially Prom season, meaning it’s time to submit your beautiful promposals into the promposal contest to try and win a set of free tickets. Submit your creative promposals to mchs.gov@gmail.com or tag the MCHS instagram and use the hashtag #mchspromposal2020. After asking a few sophomores about about their first semester with Mr. Venhuizen and Mrs. Giannone, all of them expressed their liking of them both. They really like both of them and even commented on liking Mr. V’s sense of humor. When I asked, many sophomores said they visited family over the break to celebrate the holidays. Some even said they went out of the state and I heard of one student going out of the country. Overall, class of ‘22 really enjoyed their third semester at MCHS and hope that this one is just as good.

SENIORS

BY: nikaela Llosa

Welcome to 2020, the new decade! This is our last semester as seniors, and we have less than 100 days until graduation, which is something we are all pretty excited for. However, I do not think any of us are excited to start paying for caps and gowns, as well as our college tuition and books next fall... With our days coming to an end, comes a lot of fun things we can look forward for the upcoming months. The closest on is our last spirit week and rally. So, please show all your spirit and cheer on your fellow seniors and underclassmen! Another event you guys should look forward to in the near future is prom! This year’s theme is “The Great Gatsby”, and I hope you all could make it for the last dance of our high school career. There are so many events coming up soon, which makes this semester the perfect opportunity to make our final memories with each other, and our fellow underclassmen, before we walk the stage, for Delta, MCHS, or both, and say goodbye to this chapter of our lives.

For some reminders, please keep sending in pictures and videos for our senior video. Also, going back to prom and the prom season approaching, be BOLD and ask someone to prom this year! Student Government is holding a Promposal Competition from January 27th to February 21st. You have the opportunity to win two FREE tickets to prom when entering, so what is there to lose? If you do prompose to someone, please email your promposal to mchs.sgov@gmail.com, or tag @mchsdragons on Instagram with the hashtag #mchspromposal2020. Also, please remember to keep it school appropriate!

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by kelly suth

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parasite These last few months have been a fever dream for me. Tossed in the tides of college applications and schoolwork, I spent every free moment either napping or trying to nap. Finally, I overturned the option of slumber for watching a movie.

This time: Parasite by Bong Joon Ho. You may remember me talking about Bong Joon Ho in the last issue in my review of Okja.

A relatively new film, Parasite was released in 2019 at the Cannes Festival and went home with the highly coveted prize of the Palm d’Or. Film Twitter combusted soon after; critics were quick to name it the best film of the year. At this point, I was literally itching to see the movie. Unfortunately, the closest theatre playing it was in Sacramento—and so I waited in melodramatic agony until I finally got my hands on it through the Internet.

Let me preface the rest of this article by saying that Parasite is the film of the year. Bong Joon Ho, in a daring exploration of class tension, has managed to produce a film that transcends all his other work. In one of the most original storylines of the decade, Parasite follows a family who lives in the slums of South Korea. Desperate for a job, the son manages to lie his way into a tutor position for an extremely wealthy family.

Manipulating his gullible employer, he eventually gets a job for his entire family through false pretenses. As the two families exist side by side, their differences lend to an uproarious effect. For the first half of the film, we lay witness to a lighthearted comedy— until Bong Joon Ho decides to lead the story down an astonishing and terrifying route. In an effort to retain the surprise, I will not describe the plot any further. Just know, it is completely unexpected and unprecedented.

Parasite prompts us to reflect deeply on our class system and the havoc it wreaks upon us all. But like always, Bong Joon Ho takes the alternate route. Parasite is not a simple story about the rich versus the poor. Parasite is about the cyclical nature of wealth. Yes, the rich do step on the poor— but the poor step on the impoverished. And so on, and so on. There are no heroes in the game of class.

Symbolically rich and heart-wrenchingly honest, Parasite blew me away. Make sure to watch this one if you can.

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sch ool news

drag o n ’s night by:

Charlene Nguyen

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D

ecember 6th, 2019 was our annual Dragon’s Night! It was a collaboration between Tabletop Games and our Student government! Each year they put together an event that includes a series of fun activities and this year it was gingerbread house making, musical chairs, classical board games, Wii Sports, and karaoke! There was also a lot of yummy food. Every year is different with different activities and sometimes a theme. Since the holidays are coming up, this year was a little bit like a holiday theme.

I had a lot of fun going last Friday! Although I’m a junior, this was my first year going and it makes me regret not going my first two years that I was here. I really liked the clam chowder and fried chicken though and personally, I think the food was the best part. However, I know that everyone else’s experience is different so personally, I’d recommend people going the next time that they host it because it’s a great way to meet new people and make a lot of new memories!

Hieu, a junior who attended Dragon’s Night states, “The gingerbread house making was the best part! Congratulations to the house that looked like a Church that won! The co-directors did a really good job decorating and all that. Although we didn’t have the biggest turnout, we could tell that everyone had a lot of fun!”

Even though each year is different with different activities, I’m sure that each year is a lot of fun and I hope that next year will be just as fun!

dining with the dragons TOKYO RAMEN BY: Nora Taing

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t this time of year, I am craving for something to warm myself up from the cold. The best meal to have these days is a noodle dish with a hot, flavorful broth that burns your tongue. Luckily, I found a ramen restaurant called Tokyo Ramen located near our school. On the outside of the building, there are two signs that say, “Great Wall” and “Tokyo Ramen” on the side. This is because this restaurant is a combination of Chinese take-out and a Japanese ramen shop. I was only interested in their ramen dishes, therefore, I am not familiar with their Chinese dishes. The atmosphere of the restaurant was small but cozy. They seemed to be short in staff considering how quiet and empty it was during the afternoon. The server was really kind and he checked up on my table a few times to see if everything was okay. I decided to order the Takoyaki ($6.75) and the Spicy Tonkotsu Miso ($9.95). My order was ready in about 10 minutes which was really quick.

The Takoyaki appetizer came out sizzling hot that you can see the bonito flakes (dried fish flakes) “dancing” on top of it. Takoyaki is a round fried cake made with octopus and cabbage. It was very delicious! I really enjoyed the bonito flakes and the special sauce which had a hint of wasabi in it. Next, I started to chow down on my ramen. The first thing to do is to take a sip of the broth. The broth is very oily, which is normal for ramen, and it was full of pork flavor with a hint of spiciness. After I started eating, I noticed that there were a lot more noodles than toppings. The toppings consisted of tonkatsu (BBQ pork), egg, fish cake, soybeans, bamboo shoots, and red ginger. However, the number of toppings was very little. The pork was sliced very thin, but it was very tender. To my surprise, the soy sauce-marinated egg was soft boiled, so when you break into it, the yolk oozes out. Another topping that caught my eye was the bamboo shoots because it tasted somewhat sweet and it had a nice crunchy texture. About half-way through the ramen, I started to get tired of the heavy amount of noodles. The noodles were a bit tough and I saw that they were still clumped or stuck together at the bottom. Despite that, I kept drinking the broth because it was so warm and addictive.

My experience at Tokyo Ramen was average, nothing too extravagant. The service was of a high standard since the shop did seem slow. The server was very attentive and gave us the best service which I really appreciate. Personally, I enjoyed the quiet atmosphere, just because it was practically empty. As for the quality of the food, I thought it was okay. Some problems that I had with my meal were the uncooked noodles and the few toppings. However, I still think the meal was worth the price. Although Tokyo Ramen is more on the pricey side, it was a good experience to try once in a while. It really isn’t that far from campus, so check this place out!

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music review mu O sic review music re view music review music review mu sic review music re view music review music review mu sic review music re view music ren December 6, 2019, Halsey and BTS’s SUGA released a single as she revealed her setlist for her upcoming release of her new album “Maniac”. SUGA, also known as Min Yoongi, is one of BTS’s original songwriters, artists, and producers. He had collaborated sololy with Halsey to produce “SUGA’s Interlude.” In her recent live on Instagram, Halsey stated, “One of them is with Suga from BTS, and he really fit the sentiment and the vibe of the album and what it’s about. So I felt like I really wanted to include him. Yoongi is really introspective and really intelligent perspective on where we are and what we’re doing in our unique lifestyles.”

This song is extremely sentimental as SUGA’s lyrics speak of achieving success but having to deal with self-hatred and controlling one’s personal ego. The lyrics are brutally honest about SUGA’s own personal feelings about his vulnerabilities, weaknesses, and thoughts. To fans, it seems like his music is his own way of writing in a diary. His music lets people understand his hardships he has faced throughout his journey to the top.

I definitely recommend you to listen to this song. It hits a little differently especially if you are hearing it alone. I hope you all pursue something that you genuinely enjoy in the future!

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by: Hieu Ho

In this song, SUGA refers back to an old song from BTS’s album, ‘Skool Luv Affair.” Released in 2014, “Tomorrow” is one of my favorite BTS songs. It refers to the hardships of a young person striving to achieve their dreams as they age. It is such an encouraging song that explains how each day is the same cycle during darkness times but it will eventually lead to the brightness moments. One of the lyrics in “Tomorrow” SUGA raps is, “Because the dawn right before the sun rises is the darkest / Even in the far future, never forget the you of right now”. In “SUGA’s Interlude:, he raps, “The dawn before sunrise is darker than anything / But never forget the stars you hope for only appear in the dark”.

SUGA’s Interlude

One thing that fans have noticed it that this song doesn’t involve SUGA whispering “SUGA” in the beginning of the song and the artwork includes a drawing of a figure labeled “Yoongi’ instead of SUGA., leaving fans to come to a conclusion that his song comes from the mindset of Min Yoongi, the South Korean man who is chasing his dreams of producing music under the name of SUGA. After becoming a successful idol and an inspiration to others, Min Yoongi lives under two personas, Min Yoongi and SUGA. This song emphasizes his emotions as he struggles to juggle the two different personas and their worries of pursuing something that provides them with so much joy and hope.

P.S. With all of that being said, I think that Parasite (a movie already nominated for best picture) should win because it is honestly just incredible. Read Kelly’s review for more gushing over this breathtaking film.

by: Reagan Anderson

Imagine an awards show that only celebrates white men and mediocre movies. Oh, wait….we already have one and it’s called the Oscars. Every year, movie buffs like me eagerly wait to hear Oscar nominees in hopes that our favorite movies will get nominated. Every year, we are equally disappointed when mediocre movies like Joker sweep the nominations. Admittedly, I may be a little biased on this topic as superhero and comic movies are just not my cup of tea. However, this year’s nominations have received a lot of backlash for their lack of diversity and the high amount of snubs.

Last year was a year that women and people of color ruled the screen, both behind and in front of the camera. With movies like Little Women, Parasite, Us, and Hustlers, there was no reason for this year’s nominations to be anything less than a diverse powerhouse of incredible films. Instead, we were left with a disappointing list of movies made by predominantly white males.

However, this is not exactly a new or shocking revelation. The Oscars have always had a bias for movies made by white males. In recent years, hashtags like #OscarsSoWhite and #OscarsSoMale became trends. With that, it is also just a widely acknowledged fact that white males are most likely to win at the Oscars. While it is true that a majority of filmmakers are in fact white males, this year and years past, have had many great films made by women or people of color. The Oscars are also known for taking inspiration from other awards shows. To clarify, often the nominees and winners of other shows, such as the Golden Globes, will influence the nominations and votes of the Oscars. With this history of overlap, it was especially shocking for many when Awkwafina (or The Farewell in general) did not get a single nomination after her win for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. Along with that, movies like Dolemite Is My Name and Hustlers were both either nominated or had actors nominated in major categories at the Golden Globes, while not being nominated at all at the Oscars.

Many people also found this year’s nominations to also be filled with safe and Oscar-baity films. An Oscar-bait film is a film that is made with the clear purpose of only winning an Oscar. Films such as Ford V Ferrari, 1917, and Joker (all of which were nominated for best picture) could all be movies that could fall into this category.

However, 2019 had some fascinating experimental films that easily could have replaced one of those films. For example, The Lighthouse, a movie admittedly made by a white male, was an incredible film that left me confused, happy, sad and intrigued all at the same time. It was a weird art-house film that two months after seeing it I was still having in-depth conversations with people about it. In my non-professional and inexperienced opinion, those are the types of movies that should be getting big nominations. The movies that make you think, the movies that make you feel something, and the movies that change you.

So, what is my conclusion about the Oscars? That they suck and realistically don’t mean anything. Thousands of incredible movies (*cough**cough* Ladybird) have not won Oscars and they are not any less amazing than the ones that did. Take the Oscars and their winners with a grain of salt because realistically the Oscars will most likely never change and there is no point in getting disappointed every year when they yet again choose the white male over the good movie.

the oscars Suck

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BY: PATRICIA BAYONA

O O K L

VINTAGE— old school, throwback, or whatever synonym you may say perfectly describes Reagan Anderson’s vision of style. Anderson doesn’t have the typical, day-to-day simple look, yet she looks perfect in all the outfits she rocks!

Taking ideas from several different decades and making her own style shows just how creative fashion can truly be.

Would you say your fashion sense matches your overall personality? Why or why not?

“I think it does because I tend to dress very 80’s and 90’s in particular and the things I like really match up with those decades. I love movies from that time as well as music from that time, and I dress pretty uncommon which is like my uncommon interests.”

Where do you draw inspiration from outfits?

“Um.. Movies, old pictures, and I guess Instagram to an extent. Then some of my taste is like ‘I like this shirt and I like this thing and I think it’ll look cute together.’”

Are there any celebrities that you envy their style?

Why? “Bella Hadid has nice style, but other than that I’m all over the place.”

What brands do you most shop at? Stores? Online?

“I thrift a lot, I shop at Pacsun a fair amount, and sometimes at Urban Outfitters. I don’t know, I have a few things from

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them.”

I noticed you often make and craft your own clothes.

Do you have any advice for people that want to start doing that too?

“First things first, stop thinking about what other people think. Especially my freshman and sophomore year, I was more scared to wear things that people might think I look weird, so I didn’t. I woke up one day and was like I’m gonna wear what I want. I just started buying a bunch of random clothing and some of it worked out, and some of it didn’t. You just gotta experiment.”

How do you describe your style?

“Your mother in high school.”

Is there ever a look you want to try, but you think it’s too bold? If so what type of look or trend? And why are you scared to try it?

“I wish I was more into looser fitting pants, like mom jeans or vintage jeans. Anything beyond the basic mom jean look I’m kind of uncomfortable with.”

What are some trends and/ or styles you think shouldn’t exist?

“It may be a controversial one, but I hate biker shorts. I also hate the trend of sweatpants. This is kinda of just a me thing but I can’t wear sweatpants because I feel so lazy and like I can’t start the day.”

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How do you think fashion incorporates into the art industry? Do you think it’s underrated or overrated?

“Oh that’s wild. Fashion is definitely becoming more and more of an art instillation I feel like because, if you look on runways, they’re becoming more outrageous and you’re just like ‘Who would wear that?’ and it’s like why would you question who would wear it if it’s more, at this point, art rather than fashion. I feel like overall people are looking more into like [say if they were getting a graphic tee] ‘Oh I want to have some sort of cool art piece.’ People are going into specific artists. One of my favorite shirts is one that I bought directly from an artist in SF. Overall we’re just incorporating art more into fashion and I love it.”

Now that the decade is coming to a close, what do you believe was the best decade for fashion?

“That’s hard because I’m inclined to say 80’s and 90’s because that’s how I dress, but both of them had really bad fashion at some point. The 80’s had that weird prom dress thing happen, that was a mess. The 90’s had low-waisted jeans, X-ed out. I feel like I like those decades, but if you bring them into the modern age. The 60s and 70s also had super cool clothes!”

Do you feel as if you express yourself through your clothes or is it more just to look nice?

At first, it was just to look nice because I was over looking lazy, but over time it’s just become more and more who I am and like ‘this is something I’d wear, this is something I wouldn’t wear, but I’d want to so let’s try it.’”

Do you have any tips on how to put outfits together/coordinating outfits?

“High waisted. Everyone looks good in high waisted. Guys need to start wearing high waisted stuff. Oh my god! Guys need to try harder! Like go online, look at some inspo, guys need to try harder with their fashion. Girls stick to your high waisted, don’t let low waisted come back in style. Also, girls have been wearing more pant suits and tuxes, why can’t guys wear dresses?”

Is fashion a true art form? Is it more than clothes?

It’s totally more than clothes because fashion it very much does represent you in a sense if you can’t do art, you’re using your fashion to represent who you are. Also fashion has the power to make you feel a certain way, it’s no longer just I’m wearing this outfit; it’s I’m wearing this outfit because it makes me feel happy, it makes me feel comfortable, I feel good in it. That’s very similar to what art does.

Do you find confidence with your clothes / more confident if you wear something you like?

“Yea! Because when I was younger I was super insecure about myself, like super insecure. So I didn’t wear nice clothing because I thought people were gonna think I’m trying too hard to look cool, and I’m ugly, so what’s the point of trying? So, I don’t know, when I started dressing nice, I no longer thought I was ugly. I was like ‘Oh I look super cool!’ So yeah it gives me so much confidence and I know it gives other people confidence.”

BY: REAGAN ANDERSON

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I’ve mentioned before that if you wanted to become a pho-

tographer you could. I also, however, mentioned that there will be times when your gear may limit your capabilities.

Don’t get me wrong, I will never say gear makes a photographer; keep in mind, though, that different gear is used for more specific things. An example would be portrait lenses with their fast apertures compared to zoom lenses. I want to mention that lenses are arguably the second most important gear anyone could have—being second to the photographer themselves.

Lens Breakdown “What makes a lens a lens?” asked no one. Lenses nowadays are made of mostly plastic and glass. Most all lenses come equipped with autofocus capabilities, and some lenses come with some form of built-in image stabilization. There are of course exceptions, but don’t be afraid to try these types of “different” lenses. An example would be a Rokinon lens that has no autofocus, no image stabilization, and is made of metal rather than plastic. Lenses are made up of elements (the individual glass) and groups (elements that may be fixed together) of curved glass. For example, a lens may have eight elements and could be in six groups. Curved glass focuses light onto the camera’s sensor as best as it can (well, it should because that’s what lenses are supposed to do) with the least amount of chromatic aberration and distortion. Focal length is the distance between the lens’ optical center and the camera’s sensor. Note: The optical center is where light in the lens meets and crosses. Focal lengths of lenses are usually listed on lens barrels. Shorter focal lengths produce wider images, equipped with image stabilization (which I am going to while longer focal lengths produce tighter, or more magnified, be referring to as “IS” moving forward) and a decent aperimages. ture speed. Kit lenses are incredible lenses that can truly get a beginning photographer very far, and in my opinion, kit lens are underrated by many beginning photographers. Jingha Lenses come in all shapes and sizes. People are most familiar Zhang is a professional photographer that created work with kit lenses. Almost all camera companies have kit lenseswith an outdated camera body and an outdated kit lens.

-the exception being Lieca. An example is Canon’s 18-55 mm lens that comes bundled with bodies many times. It comes

PHOTOG BY: RAIYA SO

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WITH AN amaTEUR: LENSES

Her use of “outdated” gear is an example of gear not making a photographer. Work as much as you can with a kit lens. Accept its faults and limitations, and when you’re ready, move on to whatever you need. Maybe you need a lens that works well in low-light situations. Maybe you need a faster zoom. Maybe you want a wide.

Heck, maybe even a super-wide lens.

Prime lens

Prime lenses have fixed focal lengths and usually have fast apertures. A cheap, common example is a 50mm f/1.8 lens. Most camera companies have their own version of this lens, and it is usually the cheapest introduction into prime lenses for most photographers. Why might someone need a prime lens other than for low-light?

Depth of field. Prime lenses are able to produce the creamy bokeh lots of people desire because of its fast aperture. Prime lenses come in many focal lengths with different apertures. Examples include 50mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.2, 85mm with the possibility of the same apertures, 10mm, 16mm, 28mm, 35mm, 40mm, 100mm, and 300mm.

Each focal length is used to achieve different things. Wider prime lenses are usually used for things like street photography, while tighter focal lengths are used in portraiture.

Zhang mentioned this with this photograph: “Shot at my school’s garbage dump for easy clean-up post-shoot. Nothing to do with Twilight whatsoever.”

I shot this photo with a 25mm f/1.7 with an Olympus OMD E-M5 (a micro 4/3 sensored camera).

zoom lens Aside from prime lenses, there are zoom lenses.

Zoom lenses, also known as telephoto lenses, can be fast, but the fastest zoom lens on the market are f/2.8 lenses. They are meant to be versatile; some are wide; some are used for further focal lengths; and some range from wide focal lengths to long focal lengths. An example of a wide to long telephoto lens is a 24mm-105mm.

GRAPHY

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FEBRUARY2020

DEADLINE CREW

EDITOR - Karen Nguyen Vo GRAPHIC designer + writer - Reagan Anderson GRAPHIC designer + writer - Kelly Suth photographer + writer - Raiya So senior writer - Nikaela Llosa Senior writer - Patricia BAYONA Junior writer- Chau Anh Nguyen junior writer - Arlene-Leigh Hickman junior writer - marina balaga Junior writer - nora taing junior writer - Hieu Ho junior writer - CHARLENE NGUYEN junior writer - Danielle Tuazon

SUDOKU SUDOKU