Vl46issue13final

Outlook

Volume 46 Issue 13

Student Press

March 17, 2014 outlookpress.net Rockland Community College

Women’s History Month, And All That Jazz

Satire 10 “People at that concert were blessed, listening to his angelic, prepubescent voice sing the sweetest melodies.”

Suzanne Peguero, Student

Justin Bieber’s negative display in the media shouldn’t destroy his American Sweetheart appeal.

Style 12 “The categories were stuffed with talent and excellence, and it could have been anyone’s guess this year.”

Marina Watts, Student

With Ellen hosting, and competetion tighter than before, this year’s Oscar Ceremony was delightfully memorable.

Tech 22 “The popularity of Netflix threatens the relevance of paying for TV service.”

Daniel Tagle, Student

Although Netflix has become something many can’t live without, it is hurting TV networks.

Suzanne Peguero

Managing Editor

As part of Women’s History month activities here at the College, Erica Kaplan, a Performing Arts professor, gave a lecture called “Interludes: Some Important Women in Jazz History.”

Professor Kaplan gave a very interesting lecture on different female jazz artists throughout the decades. She began the lecture by saying, “Following the abolition of slavery, jazz evolved as the style of African music merged with European instruments.”

Following this, she talked

about some of the lesser known African-American jazz musicians and singers that greatly contributed to the genre

The first female jazz artist Professor Kaplan discussed was Mamie Smith. She was an African American jazz singer

of jazz and the furthering of women in music.

in the 1920’s who was dubbed “The Queen of Blues.” Mamie

Smith, along with being an incredible singer, was also a savvy businesswoman. She was one of the first artists to push the race market, which meant that she gained listeners from a predominantly white audience instead of only African Americans.

However, there were people who disliked how much success she was receiving.

She was subsequently blacklisted, and died penniless.

Another artist she discussed was Bessie Smith (who was no relation to Mamie Smith). While Mamie Smith was called “The Queen of Blues,” Bessie Smith sought to top that, and billed herself as “The Empress of Blues.”

She is thought of as SEE JAZZ PAGE 2

Remembering Melissa in Music Dominique Alvarado

Contributing Writer

On October 21 2013, many students and faculty members felt the pain of a great loss when former student Melissa Dimataris lost her battle against leukemia.

Melissa made an impact on all the hearts she touched.

Many wanted to make sure her life continued to not only be celebrated, but honored as well.

Melissa Dimataris was fiercely talented and left her mark on the Performing Arts department. It was made clear how loved she was after RCC’s Harvest Festival took place last November in her honor and memory. A variety of acts were portrayed during these performances, and proceeds went towards the Melissa Dimataris Scholarship Fund. However, one act in particular had the crowd thirsting for more after their performance hit the stage.

Nick Dawson, an RCC alumnus, had known Melissa, and was saddened to hear the news of her passing. Being a talented musician himself, Mr. Dawson was inspired to write an original song in her honor titled “Melissa.” He and his band, The Year Off, performed it for the first time at the Harvest Festival

in an “unplugged” acoustic form.

The response was incredibly positive, and though the band had just come out of the studio

with a finished EP, they decided to go back in and record a full electric version of the track.

“Melissa,” along with nine other original songs penned by Dawson, makes up the band’s debut album, “Shut Up and Swim.”

Even though not everyone in the band knew Melissa personally,

they were all compelled by her story and wanted to donate a portion of the profits from all CD and digital download sales of the song to the RCC Pe r fo r m i ng A r t s Scholarship fund in her honor.

T h e song itself was purely inspired by M e l i s s a’s ability to s p r e a d happiness with such e a s e , while truly emphasizing her strength, talent, and contagious smile. As soon as the song begins, you notice how lively it is, exuberating nothing but love and positivityboth of which appropriately reflect Melissa herself. The lyrics exemplify her love of life with such great musicality.

The song, according to Dawson, was inspired to have the same style as Melissa’s

favorite song, “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse. Much like her favorite song, “Melissa” is unbelievably bright, feel-good, and so professionally done.

Several RCC alumni participated in the track: Will Milien (drums and vocals), Catherine Caro (vocals), Kris Carmello (vocals), and of course Nick Dawson (composer, lead vocals, guitar). “The Year Off” band members Alex Marino and David Baron played lead guitar and bass, respectively.

Additionally, the horn section from one of Rockland County’s busiest and most popular local acts, “The Mighty Spectrum Band” came in and donated their time for the cause (Bart Crum - Saxophone, Gary Bowers - Trumpet, Steven Pavia – Trombone). Tom Ryan played organ.

The entire band as a whole is incredibly excited to perform the final product of this song at RCC’s Relay for Life event this Friday night, with the hopes to really raise awareness for someone they keep so close to their hearts. Physical copies of the song will be sold at the show, and there will also be a timed release on several major digital platforms, including iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon mp3, MySpace Music and Google Play.

News

Lecture Highlights Jazzy Women

JAZZ FROM PAGE 1 one of best jazz singers in her era, along with greats like Louis Armstrong. Along with the discussion of Smith, Professor Kaplan also played one of her songs, “Give

Me a Pigfoot and a Bottle of Beer.”

Lil Hardin Armstrong was the next jazz artist Professor Kaplan discussed. Lil Hardin was the wife of Louis Armstrong.

Hardin was a brilliant musician, composer, pianist, and singer, but her husband always overshadowed her. Hardin grew up in a deeply religious household, and was enamored of the Blues and Jazz, but had to listen to them secretly because her mother

considered those genres sinful. Hardin ended up going to college for music and was in charge of her own band for a while.

However, Hardin met Armstrong, and after he heard what a brilliant musician she was, he gave her an offer to play in his band. Hardin accepted because the pay was two times what she made working with her own band.

Before Hardin, Louis A r mst rong’s band would play by head.

This meant that they would make arrangements that would not have to be written down to play. Hardin Armstrong changed this; she began writing compositions for the band. Professor Kaplan played one of the most famous songs she wrote, “Struttin’ With Some Barbecue.” Hardin died in 1971, following the death of her exhusband, Louis.

Without these women in Jazz Music, many of the opportunities women have

today would not exist. Many of these women did not have easy lives, were not paid as much as men, and faced endless discrimination. Nonetheless, their courage

March 17, 2014

and passion to do what they loved opened doors for the female artists of today, and it is important that we remember them for that.

News

March 17, 2014

History Wouldn’t be the Same Without Them Marina Watts

Editor In Chief

Often forgotten in American history, women played an important role. From Civil War spy circles to establishing mental hospitals, women made significant

differences to shape the United States.

Overshadowed by men (as we have yet to have a woman as president), the feminist trailblazers that changed society are part of America’s backbone. However, they will not be forgotten.

March is Women’s History Month, and SUNY RCC set up a lecture series to honor the women who helped change the course of history for the better. On Tuesday, March 4, students filed into the Ellipse Presentation room in the Technology Centre for a lecture focusing on American women.

The speaker was an enthusiastic Penny Colman.

Thorough in her research and eager to share her wealth of knowledge, she took us on a virtual road trip. The destinations? Various points throughout America; she focused on its homages and tributes to these groundbreaking women.

She opened the lecture with how women are stereotypically categorized as those who do housework and live mundane lifestyles. With her hour-long talk, we learned that this is not always the case.

Women like Harriet Tubman and Sacajawea, whom are often taught in American History courses, were mentioned during the lecture. However, many other women were brought up during the talk that made it worth taking part in. Not many people could tell you who Theda Bara is, or why Elizabeth van Lew made waves during the Civil War. I’ll save you the research for these two.

Bara was a famous actress in silent films, and the first femme fatale in cinema.

Although by our standards today she was conservative, Bara was risqué in her time. Van Lew operated an extensive spy ring in Richmond during the Civil War. General Grant later appointed her postmistress.

So many women were involved in important points of American history.

Sybil Ludington, for example, was the female Paul Revere. It’s too bad she isn’t thought of when people mention “one if by land; two if by sea.”

Sybil Ludington rode for twice as long as Revere did, and rallied more men in the militia than he. Madam C. J. Walker was the first woman who became a millionaire, and she did it by developing a line of hair products.

Frances Perkins set standards in business and labor, working for President Franklin Roosevelt as America’s first Secretary of Labor.

Sacajawea, the Native American woman who accompanied Lewis and

Clark on their expedition of mapping out America, has the most statues and memorials out of all the women of American history.

There are memorials throughout the country dedicated to our history’s groundbreaking women.

Rosie the Riveter has statues in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and Richmond, California. Even in New York City, the New York Public Library has a series of plaques called “Library Way” by Gregg LeFevre. It’s something worth seeing next time you take a trip downtown.

When traveling around the country, it couldn’t hurt to take a stop at these sites to learn something new. Take a moment to appreciate the actions women took.

Even though they were considered radical, their changes shaped our world.

Without the work of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, women wouldn’t have the right to vote (or would have gained it much later).

Rosie the Riveter became iconic for encouraging women at home during World War II to take initiative on the homefront and get to work. She says “we can do it!” and we did.

A b i g a i l Adams, wife of President John Adams, was famous for penning letters to her husband. She once told him to “remember the ladies.” She is absolutely right, which is why Women’s

History Month is important to take note of.

Colman closed the lecture by telling us that we can be like our foremothers if we go along with some “timeless teachings”: don’t be afraid, make some noise and refuse to be discouraged. With an interesting approach and beautiful pictures, Colman had the audience engaged in learning more.

The lecture was very i nfor mat ional, and a great one to kick off the following lectures to come at SUNY Rockland. Anyone who found

this lecture should definitely squeeze the other speeches into their schedule this March.

This lecture was a great informational session for an overview on some unknown American women history. It was also a strong foreword for anyone considering studying or taking a course on women’s history. For further reading on Penny Colman specifically, you can check out her website, www. http://pennycolman. com/. There, you can find a complete list of her books and see pictures from her road trips.

Features

March 17, 2014

Determination is Key to the Kung Fu Mindset Paul B. Messer, Jr.

Contributing Writer

Before we start with the final components, let’s briefly revisit the first three concepts of the Warrior Mindset as applied to college students. The first

point was goal setting, which simply means that you clearly establish what you want to accomplish and then make a plan to get there. Very clear and complete and surely no explanation needed on this. The next concept, determination, is a bit more complicated because it involves aligning all of your everyday actions and habits to achieve that particular goal. As a college student, by following directions, getting proper rest, being prepared for exams and handing in quality work on time, your chances for a successful outcome are greatly improved. However, discipline, the third concept, is the most important of the three. It is often lacking in college students as well as beginning martial artists.

Without discipline, you are unable or unwilling to take the time to set proper goals in the first place.

Lao Shr Mike Reynolds, a 3rd Degree Black Sash in Shaolin Chuan and Head Instructor at the Elite Chinese Martial Arts Academy, believes Discipline is very important. “Too many people.” He says “Lack the confidence or the courage to actually pursue what they are capable of achieving.” Discipline, enables the weakest student to eventually become one of the most capable. It is misguidedly assumed or hoped that when it comes to academics, things will simply work out for the best. Unfortunately for many students without discipline they often do not work out at all.

For example, although you may have wanted to get to bed at a decent time so you could finish an important assignment in the morning, something comes up.

Whether it was a visiting relative, a long phone call with a sweetheart, a late night movie or some other distraction, you ultimately do not complete the required project and therefore skip the class. A student with a Warrior Mindset would ensure that their mission (assignment)

was completed first, regardless of any obstacles. “I tell my students that there will always be distractions and you simply have to work through it,” says Don Iannucci, a tenured professor of Art at Rockland Community College (RCC) and also a student of Lao Shr Reynolds.

Mr. Iannucci is a Black Belt in Tai Chi and a 2nd Degree Black Sash in Kung Fu. He has trained in martial arts for 15 years and this semester is teaching a class in Kung Fu at RCC. According to Mr. Iannuci, Wu Shu is the proper name for the martial art known as Kung Fu. “Actually,”he continued, “Kung Fu is defined as skilled effort over a long period of time.”

In this instance the college student has the better part of the deal. For a martial arts student, full mastery of a particular system could take many long years. The average

regardless of the duration. “A Warrior Mindset demands consistent drive, focus, and commitment towards your goal.” adds Mr. Reynolds. “Never fear moving

college student in comparison will only need to concentrate their efforts for two, four or in some instances seven years.

This introduces our next component, Sustained Focus which means keeping your eyes on your goal through each level

be aware of any changes in the academic environment. For example, some classes due to scheduling conflicts may be offered every other year or require a prerequisite course that a student had not completed.

In the warrior mindset, those issues are

forward slowly, only fear standing still” This ensures that a student will make small adjustments to stay on course and

recognized early, rectified with a viable solution so the journey may continue unimpeded.

As a student moves through their collegiate or martial arts process there also must be continued improvement, our penultimate concept.

A Wu Shu student learns to be aware of his own physical movement and positioning to make the appropriate corrections for improvement.

The warrior mindset requires that you learn from your mistakes and make new ones, not the same ones.

Two years after a student’s first college course, scholastic performance should be dramatically e n h a n c e d .

Unfortunately, if their writing skills or ability to solve complex problems have not been augmented, both precious time and money have been squandered.

Even Lao Shr Reynolds still continues to train and learn new techniques. His philosophy is “A warrior feeds his body and his mind. Where he lacks skill he practices and where he lacks knowledge he studies. The warrior must believe in himself, his strength, his will and his heart and soul.”

The final concept in this particular case is not really the last step, since this process by its very nature is cyclical. After this stage you will check your progress and advance to the next tasks or requirements that bring you closer to your ultimate goal.

But this step nonetheless is crucial to your continued success and it is, celebrating your achievement. It requires recognition of the challenges overcome on this part of the journey and the enjoyment of the rewards and benefits derived from your labor. However, while you may have completed a major paper, aced a mid-term exam or delivered a quality PowerPoint presentation, it is certainly time for only a moderate acknowledgement. A martial artist, who gleefully celebrates after successfully learning each new move or form, will require an inordinate time to advance. Save the big celebrations for major milestones such as successful certification, a 3.5 GPA for the semester or rank graduation. Remember, too many nights of blowing off steam many cause you to ultimately lose steam and delay your arrival at your final destination.

To celebrate another year of continued growth, The Elite Chinese Martial Arts Academy and Lao Shr Reynolds will host an Open House on Saturday April 5 from 9 am to 4 pm at The Academy located a 1633 Route 202 Pomona, NY 10970. The Open House will feature demonstrations of Shaolin Kung Fu, Tai Chi/Chi Gong, Chinese Kickboxing and weapons.

March 17, 2014

Features

The Little Couple Battles Cancer

Shannon Meade

Contributing WRiter

Americas favorite couple never fails to inspire us, but what happens when beloved mother and wife Jen Arnold faces cancer?

Jen fights back with determination and grace as she battles this rare disease, and she is grateful her recovery is moving in the right direction.

“And while I’m hesitant to say I’m cancer-free – maybe that’s common for people who have had cancer -- I’m doing great. Everything is moving in the right direction. I am very excited,” Jen told People magazine in March, 2013 TLC’s hit show “The Little Couple” captured Americans hearts when it first debuted in May 2009. As one of TLC’s most successful series, our nation has watched in awe at how both Jen and Bill face their daily lives with dwarfism. We have seen their family develop as well, when Jen and Bill adopted their two children, Will and Zoey. Jen and Bill came to the decision to adopt due to the fact that Jen had difficultly conceiving on her own, simply because she is a dwarf. Jen unfortunately and unintentionally suffered from a non-viable pregnancy in September 2013. Little did she know, that this failed pregnancy is what led to her developing the rare cancer in her uterus known as Choriocarcinoma.

Choriocarcinoma is a fast growing type of cancer that develops in a woman’s uterus. The abnormal cells begin as the placenta,; with failed pregnancies such as the one Jen experienced, this type of

as with every other struggle she faces in her life, she chose to share her battle with the world. Jen had to undergo relentless and tiring chemotherapy sessions weekly, which drained her tiny body and left her

cancer can occur. It is very common for this type of cancer to then spread from the Uterus to the lungs, as it unfortunately began to do with Jen. Jen was diagnosed with Stage 3 Choriocarcinoma in December 2013, and

extremely sick. Her road to recovery was not easy, and her physical disabilities only made it that much harder. After the risky surgery to remove the mass in her uterus, Jen developed pneumonia in the hospital.

Getting chemotherapy for a person of her

size poses many risks to her health as w ell.

Bill claims in an interview on their show “The Little Couple”, “I’d do anything to take her place.” This shows how regardless of what they are going through, Bill and Jen continue to stand by each other and make best with what they have. Jen also states on her show that her children have given her a tremendous amount of strength and determination to beat cancer and make a strong recovery.

“Watching my children play was a huge uplifting part of my treatment. With little kids running around, you don’t have much time to feel sorry for yourself”- Jen, TLC’s “The Little Couple.”

Jen thankfully announced in March 2013 that her cancer is in remission. Jen had to have her blood count monitored weekly to ensure that her cancer did not return for the next 18 months ahead of her.

Nevertheless, she remains positive and has great faith in herself and her doctors, and this positivity is contagious and inspiring.

Americans and people around the world are realizing how amazing Jen Arnold truly is.

Not only does she face adversity in her daily life with her disabilities, but that she also faces cancer she is even more admirable and inspiring. Everyone has something to learn and take away from the experiences she has been forced to deal with.’

Opinions

Disney is Taking Over the World

Suzanne Peguero

Managing Editor

If you know me at all, you will know that I love a good conspiracy theory every once in a while.

After all, what can be more fun than trying to figure out ways the world is more complicated than it appears? With this in mind, I was delighted when my friend and Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper, Marina, casually told me one of her own: Disney is trying to take over the world.

I was ridiculously excited when I heard this one. Everything fell into place in my mind. Disney has been making some interesting marketing moves lately, and with this mindset, they all make perfect sense. I present to you, dear reader, the four ways in which Disney is trying to obtain world domination.

1. Disneyland (and Disneyworld) This was the first move in Walt Disney’s mind for animated and unrealistic human proportion world domination. It has to be. I mean, Disneyland? An entire land full of Disney? It was (and is) an obvious ploy to indoctrinate everyone in the world to believe in and be obsessed

with Disney, which everyone knows is the first step to world domination: have everyone be obsessed with you or your product, and then establish mindcontrol. What’s more, it works. (Believe

me; I’ve been there.)

2. Live Action Films We all know (though we may not want to admit it) that Disney’s live action films, well, are horrible. Everyone loves a good animated cartoon Disney film

(“Alice In Wonderland,” anybody?) but two and half hours of “The Lone Ranger”—which really could have been an hour and half—was excruciating torture. It’s pretty simple if you look at it

in this light, however: live action movies make a ridiculous amount of money.

A ridiculous amount of money equals capitalism. Capitalism equals power.

Power equals world domination. Disney is still vying for world domination, my friends.

March 17, 2014

3. The great 2012 tragedy of Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm Ltd We all mourned when we heard the news. We took out our lightsabers and held them while we cried tears of fear and sadness. Disney bought Lucasfilm. Lucasfilm made the great and wonderful Star Wars series. Disney is planning on making another “Star Wars” film (why? Just why?). Disney will be able to put subliminal messages in the film about their brand, ensuring mind control.

Star Wars films always make an incredible amount of money.

An incredible amount of money equals capitalism. Capitalism equals power. Power equals world domination. Do you see what I’m getting at?

4. Disney’s digital movie locker You would think, at this point, they would try to be subtle about their plans, but no. Disney has launched a cloud based movie service that allows users to watch all of the Disney movies they have purchased, anywhere, at any time. When I read this piece of news, I sighed and gave up any thoughts of resistance. It is useless. We must accept the face of our new master, and in this case it is a pair of Mickey Mouse ears.

Opinions

March 17, 2014

Outlook Student Press Marina Watts, Editor-in-Chief Suzanne Peguero, Managing Editor Julie DeVito, Production Manager

Anuj Chokshi, Photography Editor Benedict Tagle, Sports Editor

Outlook Student Press is published every other week except during exam periods and summer. It is an independent newspaper produced by students and paid for by advertising revenue and student activities fees.

Submissions and articles become the property of Outlook Student Press. Outlook Student Press invites you to submit your opinions and ideas for publication. We strongly encourage letters to the editor.

Content does not necessarily reflect the views of the Outlook editors or staff. Submissions may be edited for clarity, length, style, and taste. Outlook does not accept anonymous submissions.

On the web: Outlookpress.net Facebook.com/outlookpress Email: Outlookstudentpress@gmail.com Office: Student Union Room 3200 Phone: (845) 574-4389 Fax: (845) 356-6261 Snail mail:Outlook Student Press Rockland Community College 145 College Road, Suffern, NY 10901 Professor Fuentes, Advisor

Contributors: Dominique Alvarado, Paul B. Messer Jr., Shannon Meade, Matthew Tsuei, Athena Middleton Staff: Adam Samuel, Valissa Hicks, Daniel Tagle, Michael Porco

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t u o b A l e e F u o Y o D w o H ..... ? a n a u j i r a M g n i z i l a g e L

Anuj Chokshi

Marina Watts

Suzanne Peguero

Benedict Tagle

I think in a way, it is a good idea to legalize marijuana in the state of NY for the medical patient who really needs it, it would be really easy to get it. But on the other hand, it is also very risky when people will use it just to get intoxicated. But if there are some strict policies about buying marijuana, for example, valid medical certificate or something, I think there is nothing wrong in legalizing marijuana. It would be also helpful to government by collecting taxes on it and by selling it legally; the undercover market would vanish.

Legalizing marijuana is a step in the right direction. Slowly, states are starting to legalize it for medical use. Even more gradually, it is becoming more commonplace for people to obtain it and use it recreationally. Once it becomes regulated, it will be overseen by the FDA. When people get it from drug dealers, you can never really tell how strong it will be, and you could possibly get a bad batch. Once the government keeps an eye on its activity, it won’t be laced with anything other than cannabis. There is also some money to be made on legalizing it on the federal level. It can be taxed, once legalized, and this could lessen our nation’s overwhelming debt (maybe?). If people can come home and let loose with a cold beer or a glass of wine, why shouldn’t they be allowed to do the same with marijuana?

To be honest, I don’t really care too much about the legalization of marijuana. I don’t use it, but if people want to have it legalized so that there isn’t such a stigma surrounding it, that’s fine by me. There are actually a lot of benefits if New York does this: the amount of bad batches that people get will be greatly reduced, and then everybody’s happy (except for shady dealers, but oh well). It’ll also help bring profits to the government if they regulate it. Nonetheless, it isn’t really a huge issue to me.

Every single day, there’s a different argument about why or why not marijuana should be legalized. It’s so hard to have an affirmative stance on the topic, especially because I have focused so very little on the debate. I’m right in the middle, and will continue to be in the middle until I dedicate the time to really understand both sides of the argument. Until then, no comment. One thing is for certain, it’s certainly a long battle. While there have been laws passed in different countries and different states now, there is still a strong resistance. It’s not certain that the fight will be done any time soon.

March 17, 2014

Are You Sure You’re You? Marina Watts

Editor In Chief

After countless hours have been exhausted taking Buzzfeed’s popular online quizzes, there is no way to get out of your existential funk. You are told you are Olaf from “Frozen,” Lena Dunham from “Girls” and Cal from “Titanic.” What does that even mean, Cal from “Titanic”? Is it from your love of patronizing Leo DiCaprio and yelling at women? Have no fear, reader!

Take this quiz and you will find who you are truly meant to be.

What’s your go-to coffee drink?

Espresso. Clearly you are someone who talks fast thinks fast and reads fast and then runs ten miles and... Before you crash. Then repeat the cycle.

Cappuccino. You’re one of those fancy Europeans who drinks one with cinnamon sprinkled on top, while reading the Sunday paper in a cafe.

You stay classy.

Frappuccino. Unaware of the season, amount of calories, or the stares actual

coffee drinkers give you, you will probably go tweet about how this quiz is “#rude” for being so accurate.

Decaf latte. A decaf latte? Seriously?

Drink some real coffee! What’s the point?

What is your favorite food?

Double Cheeseburger with bacon. You like to plan ahead, just in case you have to skip the next meal; you eat the equivalent calorie amount to two meals instead of one.

Sushi. What are you still living in America for? I recommend booking your next flight to Japan so all your raw fish dreams can come true.

Bananas. You are secretly a monkey.

I’m sorry to be the one to tell you, but why lie? You are primitive in your thoughts, behavior and walk on your knuckles.

Red velvet cake. Mystery solved! That’s Oprah’s favorite cake. You’re OPRAH. FAAAABULOUUUUS! It’s time to pick a movie for your second date with that special someone.

You pick: Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Your date is uncomfortable with all the blood? What does it matter? You are an impenetrable wall who doesn’t care what anyone thinks about you, even the person you want to impress the most.

The Notebook. Order it on demand now

and we’ll ship you a pint of cookie dough ice cream with a box of tissues free with your paid order(not really...sorry). You’re such a softy and will do anything to curl up with ice cream…and possibly Ryan Gosling.

The Music Man. You think you have a

hear, it’s got to be Kanye. You are a dogooder sharing your profanity laced rap and hip-hop with the world.

Disney’s “Frozen” soundtrack. You’re a kid at heart who isn’t afraid to sing along to the Disney sister-princess songs. You also

great singing voice, especially after your role as “man # 3 in suit” from your high school play. I’m sure your date loves you belting “The Wells Fargo Wagon” off key with confidence.

T h e Prestige. Time to confuse the hell out of your date.

This is a good pick if you are looking for an IQ range, just to make sure you match up c o g n i t i ve l y.

Clearly you like thinking deeply about films, have you considered profe s sion a l critiquing?

There’s only $10 left on your iTunes account, so you can only download one album until you redeem more money. You pick: Kanye’s newest album. If you’re going

prefer singing along to it with chipmunks and birds that help you clean your house.

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons-the summer part. You’re an intellectual, or someone

to have something stream out of your headphones loud enough for the world to

swinging to music that was popular when your grandparents were hip and young.

who likes to pretend to be one. Also, since there are no words, you make up your own.

You creative spirit, you.

Louis Prima’s Greatest Hits. You enjoy

Satire

You have good taste, but you’re just an anachronism in a world that is entranced by twerking. You poor, poor soul. iTunes? Please. You’re a badass who downloads movies, music, and your next meal illegally. Up next is the nonexistent “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” mix.

Time to buy a lightsaber at Toys R Us. What color do you pick?

Red, with two ends to it.

You badass, you’re ready to take on the world with your red plastic terror. No more helping old ladies cross the street for you. You have a galaxy to take over.

Green. You must be short.

Yoda has a green lightsaber too. NERD ALERT. Purple. That’s actually pretty cool, like Samuel L. Jackson’s. You’re the man; don’t let anyone tell you differently.

Lame. Why would you ever buy a lightsaber? Those are lame; I’m too cool for that.

You’ve got a trip to New York City planned. What are you doing?

Museum of Natural History. You love history, even the basic kind of history you

learn in third grade. You are bound to be the next Indiana Jones, and what better place to start than a museum? You also love posing for selfies with skeletons, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, Sacagawea, and Theodore Roosevelt.

Times Square. You love people, so why not venture to the most tourist-populated part of New York? There are big stores, hot dog stands, and the Naked Cowboy. But most importantly, people everywhere.

The Empire State Building. You are above everyone else so what better way to announce this than stand at the top of the tallest building in the biggest city in the world? Logic, bro.

Central Park. You’re a tree hugging hippie who needs to spread their love, so you should probably propel yourself at anything with branches and leaves (and squirrels).

This will determine who you are meant to be. You shall no longer spend countless hours figuring out what your personality really is. No need to hop back onto Buzzfeed, this is the ultimate guide to finding out nuances about your life, right here in your hands. Whether you are secretly Oprah, a 1920’s gangster or a monkey, the mystery has been solved.

Don’t take another Buzzfeed quiz.

Satire

Leave Justin Bieber Alone!

Suzanne Peguero

Managing Editor

How can you not love him? He has a beautifully girly face, wonderful Canadian hair, and the voice a prepubescent angel. This angel, this unreal being that has graced us with his presence, is the ex t r a o rd i n a r y Justin Bieber.

He has blessed us with his light and grace, and frankly, the way we are treating him (like a regular being?

Really?) is just atrocious.

Granted, Justin Bieber did throw up on stage at that concert.

However, why are we viewing this as a bad thing? Why? The people at that concert were blessed to be there, listening to his angelic, prepubescent voice sing the sweetest melodies mankind

being. He pushes boundaries in what you can and cannot wear. This, my friends, is nothing to be punished for.

He also did urinate on private property

in mind that this is not just any old person; it is Justin Bieber. It is the angel who has graced the world with his voice, and also graced a bucket with his urine. That bucket

and yelled, “F**k Bill Clinton!” but why do we blame him for these actions? Why do we think that this is bad? If it was any other regular person or any other celebrity, yes,

should be thankful and in awe of what it was given. Furthermore, how do we know that he is not right about Bill Clinton? Why are we so quick to blame Bieber rather than

March 17, 2014

fans. But the silly public does not understand; those fans were given a great gift, and that is the gift of Justin Bieber’s spit being launched from his mouth onto their faces.

It was a great r e s p o n si bi l it y and gift, not an act of idiocy.

So that you can see that I have talked to other about this opinion and it is not just mine, I would like to share with you some words of wisdom I received from a completely unbiased, not at all hormonally charged twelve year old girl.

“It’s, like, totally stupid,” she said, flicking her tongue over her pink and green braces.

“Like, they’re just a bunch of stupid old people who are just jealous they don’t look like him. Vote for Bieber!”

Contrarily, I also talked to an adult whose argument was not at all logical or considering of the law and how it works.

Picture Credit: latimes.com

has ever known. If he decides that he should throw up on stage, it was still a selfless, kind hearted, not-at-all-alcohol-induced act. He was already blessing the people there with his voice, so why not also bless them with his vomit? People do not understand the selfless acts of a martyr these days.

And yes, Bieber did lash out at those reporters that one time, with reason or provocation, but that was understandable.

They were asking him questions like you would a normal celebrity. I mean, what did they expect? What did those silly, idiotic journalists expect? Did they think that he would accept them treating him like an absolute peasant? No. There is no way that angel would tolerate that.

And yes, he also did wear a gas mask while he was in London, which many people thought was offensive and/or bizarre. But they don’t understand. Not only is Bieber an unreal being, he is also a fashion forward, fashion conscious unreal 10

this would be completely unacceptable.

We would understandably be in scorn of the person who does that. But we must keep

listen to his carefully formed, logically reasoned arguments?

He was also put under fire for spitting on

“Well, if you’re asking whether or not I think he should be put in jail because he was doing several illegal things (dragracing under the influence of drugs and alcohol), yes I think he should. Not only was he endangering the lives of everyone around him by drag racing, he was also doing it under the influence of alcohol and drugs. So yes, he should definitely be thrown in jail. He’s an idiot.” Obviously, this supposedly “mature” and “logical” adult does not know how the universe works in regards to Justin Bieber.

And recently, he has been arrested twice. The first time was in Miami Beach, Florida for drag racing under the influence of alcohol while also having traces of THC and Xanax in his system. The second was for assaulting a limousine driver in Toronto, Canada. Bieber was reportedly furious with the fact that the police arrested him the first time, and asked them, “Why the f**k are you doing this to me?” Why indeed,

Style & Entertainment

March 17, 2014

Marina Watts

Editor In Chief

My inner seven-year-old has been awakened by Warner Brother’s latest animated picture, “The Lego Movie.”

Delightful and funny, it appeals to everyone, from little kids to parents taking them.

Even college students have been raving about this film.

Its humor is obvious, as not one line is wasted.

The childish aspects of it are what make it so good.

Why not take such a well-known toy and turn it into a film?

Companies have tried to do this in the past (the Barbie movies, Thomas the Tank Engine, etc.) but no one pulled it off quite as successfully as this motion picture.

Already grossing $130 million (and counting), it’s fair to say “The Lego Movie” is well deserving of its praise and critical acclaim. Based on the Lego Construction Toys, this film is nothing to toy around with.

Emmet (voiced by Chris Pratt) follows his instruction guide to life as he gets by day by day in his Lego World. Mistaken

by WyldStyle (voiced by Elizabeth Banks) to be the Master Builder, Emmet is thrown into the adventure of a lifetime. Wyldstyle takes him to Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman) to train him to defeat evil Lord Business (voiced by Will Ferrell). Honestly, this cast is amazing, all voicing Lego pieces.

Lord Business plans on freezing the Lego pieces and taking complete control over them. As nefarious as his scheme is, the way he goes about it very silly.

Other actors and actresses who lent their voices to this film include Jonah Hill, Charlie Day, Liam Neeson, and Channing Tatum.

With his Lego companions, Emmet and his band of misfits travel through

various Lego play sets and work to defeat Lord Business. And it works. It really does; the idea of a Lego movie may seem silly. And it is, in every way possible. It is just so silly and fantastic that it works.

It’s crisp, bright and flawless.

and search through my old toys and find some Lego sets to build.

The script is lighthearted and fun. It references other toy products that are inferior to Lego and its success, along with bringing different Lego sets and

The animation is incredible, as everything is CGI composed entirely out of Legos. From the characters and buildings to the explosions and water rushing from place to place, everything is like a gigantic Lego play set before your eyes. I can proudly say that I grew up playing the Lego video games, and the animation here is much more sophisticated. The bricks and pieces onscreen felt so real. I wanted to go home

characters into play. The humor is aimed for kids, but it’s clever and keeps moving.

The vocabulary suits a younger audience, but the jokes that go over kids’ heads and find their way to adults in the audience are blissful, and remind us that comedy need not always be sex jokes and endless profanity. Growing up playing with Lego sets and the Lego videogames, this was a great way to see our beloved toys in action. I laughed the entire way through,

as some of the jokes were expected. A good portion of the humor caught me offguard, but I’m not complaining. I was pleasantly surprised.

Batman and other superheroes made it into the film, along with Abe Lincoln and Dumbledore, even some new characters that will be part of the new play sets Lego is producing and selling.

Nonetheless, everyone is lovable (even the villains).

Despite the “1984” vibe it gives (as big brother is watching us in the form of Will Ferrell, being a part of the system), the message of believing in yourself is a great one for kids. And it goes about it in a creative way.

“The Lego Movie” had been in development stages since 2008.

Marketing for this film was extremely extensive, and successful. The first trailer I saw was July 2013, more than six months before the film’s premiere. There are seventeen building play sets based on the film scenes available to purchase.

At the Lego stores, customers received a movie poster with their purchases in the month of January with characters from the film as a promotion. A video game for essentially every console was also released based on the movie.

And does the fun end there? Nope! On February 3, Jared Stern (who wrote other animated films like “Wreck-It Ralph” and “Bolt”) was hired to write a sequel to “The Lego Movie.” Despite the fact that there was some closure at the end, there is definitely room for a sequel. With any luck, it will be just as silly and fun as its predecessor.

Overall, “The Lego Movie” is a delightful romp through your childhood play sets. Colorful and action-packed, it keeps you captivated for its duration, wide-eyed and laughing the whole way through.

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Style & Entertainment

The 86th Annual Academy Awards

Marina Watts

Editor In chief

then again, it’s Oscar pizza.

And, yes, Jennifer Lawrence, there was food here. (This probably wound up being her favorite awards show thus far, and she will strive to get nominated again).

The following were nominated for Best Supporting Actor: Michael Fassbender (“12 Years a Slave”), Bradley Cooper

ever. Ellen is so hip and with it.

She also got hungry, and though her joke

(“American Hustle”), Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club”), Jonah Hill (“Wolf of Wall

about ordering pizza seemed forgettable as soon as the audience reacted, she was serious. In due time, a pizza delivery boy showed up with three pies and was shown up and down the aisles of the Dolby Theatre.

Watching the AList actors eat pizza in their tuxes and gowns was humorous.

That pizza guy had no idea what he was in for (yes, he was a real delivery guy and not an actor).

Everyone from Martin Scorsese to a very pregnant Kerry Wa s h i n g t o n chowed down with some Oscar pizza, which, according to Yelp!, was either very delicious or very terrible. But

Street”) and (“Captain Philips”). Jared Leto won, and he had a moving speech.

He dedicated his Oscar to the AIDS victims who lost their lives, and gave his mom a shout –out. His dedication to his role was incredible.

The five year break he took from acting really paid off.

J e n n i f e r L a w r e n c e (“A m e r i c a n Hustle”), Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years A Slave”), Sally Hawkins (“Blue Jasmine”), Julia Roberts (“August: Osage County”) and June Squibb (“Nebraska”) were nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Nyong’o won for her performance and her speech

Photo Credit: usnews.com

Sunday March 2 was the 86th annual Academy Awards ceremony. It is the Super Bowl of the cinematic world, as we cheer on and boo the celebrities and filmmakers up for their nominations to potentially receive these golden, bald statuettes.

This year, nine films were nominated for the Best Picture category (efforts to make the Awards Ceremony appeal to more, since there were more films to see and judge).

The categories were stuffed with talent and excellence, and if the Golden Globes weren’t such an accurate precursor/prediction tool, it could have been anyone’s guess this year. Everyone flooded the red carpets and shuffled into the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles with high hopes to take home the small golden man.

Everyone looked wonderful, as the nominees have taken hints from Oscar wardrobe malfunctions from the past as inside knowledge to the Do’s and Don’ts of the red carpet scene.

This year, there were many family members as plus ones. Leonardo DiCaprio brought his mom, as did Jared Leto. Lupita Nyong’o brought her brother, and Jonah Hill brought his mom as well. It was pretty adorable.

TV personality Ellen DeGeneres hosted this year’s ceremony. After Seth MacFarlane’s four hours of snarky remarks, obscene jokes, and hurtful jabs at the audience, Ellen seemed like the safe choice.

I mean, the man opened the show with a little ditty called “We Saw Your Boobs.” It really doesn’t get more awkward than that.

Ellen, however, opened with a monologue that was “nice funny” until she started making hurtful jabs at Liza Minnelli. No worries, though, Ellen took a consolation selfie and tweeted it out during the show to make everything better. Hash-tagging

Ellen was in fact so successful at hosting that she managed to reportedly break Twitter. She took a selfie with Bradley Cooper, Lupita Nyong’o, Meryl Streep, and a few other stars that evening.

Her goal was to make it the most retweeted picture ever, and she managed to pull it off. With over 3,000,000 retweets (and counting), it is the most retweeted selfie

the picture “besties” topped off the tweet quite nicely.

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March 17, 2014

had moved me to tears. “When I look down at this golden statue, may it remind me and every little child that no matter where you’re from your dreams are valid,” she said. What an inspirational way to end her speech. Hopefully we see her back at the Oscars in due time.

The Best Original Screenplay Oscar was given to “Her.” Spike Jonze’s love story about a man falling for his operating system was timely, and touches upon the complexities of intimacy and relationships in a way that not many films do. Winner of the Best Adapted Screenplay category was “12 Years a Slave.”

The script practically wrote itself according to director Steve McQueen, and it was a story worth adapting.

The winner of the Best Director Oscar was Alfonso Cuaron for his work on “Gravity.” This was no surprise, as the film racked up a total of seven Oscars for the technical sides of filmmaking. Cuaron graciously accepted the Oscars, as his film was meant to be watched for the cinematography, not for the plot (which lacked; thank God the shots of space were much more beautiful than the banter Sandra Bullock let stream from her mouth).

Amy Adams (“American Hustle”), Cate Blanchet (“Blue Jasmine”), Meryl Streep (“August: Osage County”), Judi Dench (“Philomena”) and Sandra Bullock (“Gravity”) were all nominated for Best Actress. Blanchet won, despite all the Woody Allen-Mia Farrow drama that had resurfaced this January (it didn’t look like it would sway the Academy or hurt her chances). This was her second Oscar; she won her first for “The Aviator” in 2004, and this time around she played a completely different role.

The nominees for Best Original Song performed their respective songs live at the ceremony that evening. “Let it Go” by Idina Menzel (Not Adele Nazim; silly John Travolta) from “Frozen” won Best Original song, and Robert Lopez is one of the 12 people

to be an EGOT---a winner of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar AND Tony.

Nonetheless, all the live performances

March 17, 2014

Style & Entertainment

A Night to Remember In this critic’s defense, McConaughey had it. The man dropped 50 pounds off of his already fit frame for the role, and was moving as AIDS patient Don Woodroof.

If it wasn’t for his performance, DiCaprio would have easily gotten it; provided the Academy didn’t decide to pull a “Career Oscar” stunt for Bruce Dern. However, DiCaprio was dynamic and at his finest in

and the beatings making it difficult to sit through, it was an honest adaptation of Solomon Northup’s memoir of the same name. The cast altogether was excellent, and included supporting actors Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt (who also produced the film). It was a fair choice, and well deserved. Despite its moments of brutality, it was an excellent

“Wolf of Wall Street;” hopefully he gets his Oscar soon. For the meantime, he will

piece. The music was fantastic, set design superb and accurate to the time

more uneasy each time I revisit it. I can

continue his break from acting and let the Academy’s hate continue to burn his soul.

Last, but definitely not least, the winner for best picture was announced. The nine films nominated (“Her,” “Wolf of Wall Street,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Nebraska,” “Gravity,” “American Hustle,” “Captain Philips,” “Dallas Buyers Club,” and “Philomena”) were all very different from each other, which makes it difficult them to compare. All had A-List actors and actresses, and other aspects about each picture which make them likeable, yet flawed (“Hustle’s” improve dialogue and lack of solid plot line, “Wolf’s” borderline porn throughout, etc).

The winner? “12 Years a Slave.”

Despite it being labeled as torture porn

period. It was a refreshing change for

Although tonight did honor the best people of the 2013 cinematic year, not everyone could be a winner (Ellen reaffirmed this with some scratch-off lotto tickets for Bradley Cooper). Those who left the Kodak theatre without an Oscar didn’t leave completely emptyhanded. The consolation prize of being an Oscar nominee contains about $45,000 worth of goodies.

Included in these bags are trips to Hawaii, Australia and Mexico, por tion- cont rolled dinnerware, sessions with a personal trainer (probably to keep the nominees from eating their way through not winning), and circus lessons.

Maybe just being nominated for an Oscar and not winning isn’t as bad as it seems.

I mean, “Wolf of Wall Street” was nominated for five awards, “American Hustle” was nominated for ten. Both left emptyhanded, but this year the categories were more competitive than ever before.

Complete with strange montages (what was up with those superhero clips?), pizza deliveries

Photo Credit: usnews.com

Picture Credit: Bradley Cooper

were amazing, including P!nk’s tribute to “Wizard of Oz” and Bette Midler singing “Wind Beneath my Wings” during the memoriam portion of the show. Just when cinephiles were finished drying their eyes over Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Walker, the waterworks started again.

Bill Murray even gave a shout-out in good taste to Harold Ramis upon announcing the winner for the Best Cinematography award (which was “Gravity”).

And the tears came again, as the Best Actor Oscar went to Matthew McConaughey and not Leonardo DiCaprio.

The nominees for Best Actor were Christian Bale (“American Hustle”), Bruce Dern (“Nebraska”), Leonardo DiCaprio (“Wolf of Wall Street”), Matthew McConaughey (“Dallas Buyers Club”) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (“12 Years a Slave”). The internet exploded with memes, gifs, tweets; you name it, the disappointment of fans all over in the Academy’s choice of McConaughey.

Just watching the gif of the heartbreak in his eyes makes me

only imagine how crazy the Twitterverse would have gone, provided he actually won.

Photo Credit: nydailynews.com

and selfie-nation taking over the Dolby Theatre, it’s safe to say that the Oscars could have come straight from the mind of a college kid shaped by social media.

Overall, the show received excellent ratings; this year’s Oscars ceremony was the most-watched entertainment broadcast since the “Friends” finale. It has also had the internet abuzz since.

Memes of an Oscarless Leo, Benedict Cumberbatch being photo-shopped onto everything in his epic leap, and Adele Nazim creating a Twitter account is exactly how we have reacted to the 2014 Oscars. And let’s not forget to retweet the most epic selfie ever when we finish reading; unless, of course, you already did that crazy Sunday night.

Nevertheless, well done Ellen.

an antebellum period film compared to Quentin Tarantino’s gory masterpiece “Django Unchained” last year.

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Style & Entertainment

March 17, 2014

Styling and Profiling: the Oscars Red Carpet

McQueen gown.

Oh, Lupita Nyong’o, light of my life.

Why is she so beautiful? Honestly, she is the reason I am not throwing something at my T.V. right now; I am staring open

Suzanne Peguero

Managing Editor

Well, we are about one minute into the red carpet and gushing, brown nosing interviewers are already embarrassing stars. What should we call this elevated

pedestal that they are talking (rambling) on? The pillar of emptiness?

The pedestal of vapidity?

I like the pedestal of vapidity. I think we’re gonna go with that.

Viola Davis has done exactly two things right: wearing a strapless, emerald green Escada gown, and rolling her eyes at some interviewer gushing over her. I am genuinely cackling right now.

And we’re back to boring. June Squibb is looking quite lovely in (another) green gown—I believe it’s

Tadashi Shoji—but she is also droning about being a stripper.

I am going to get a fork to scrape out my eyeballs with.

Oh no, someone tried to bandage Anna Kendrick’s breasts and missed. She is donning an awful J Mendel dress that appears as though it doesn’t really know what it wants. Does it want to be asymmetrical? Sheer? Soft and draping? Embroidered?

Honestly, dress, just make up your mind. While you’re at it, get the fashion police over here and get this horrible 14

dress and boring talk off of the pedestal of vapidity.

And Sally Hawkins cannot speak.

She is an actress, and she cannot speak.

Also her Valentino dress makes her look like a gold, gilded, embroidered fish.

Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde just came onto the other pedal of vapidity.

I am hoping that they (or at least Jason Sudeikis) will provide some witty answers to an otherwise dull pre-award show.

Meanwhile Olivia Wilde looks alright.

She is wearing a black Valentino dress with a white panel in the back, but either it isn’t fitting correctly, or she needs to go for a proper bra sizing.

You would think that they would check that scrupulously before she goes to an award show. Also, why does this interviewer keep on asking people about date nights at the movies? Is this all he can come up with? Is this what journalism has turned into? Fawning over stars and asking them questions that a five year old could ask?

And now we are watching a segment on a bag, Woody Allen, and Blue Jasmine.

Because of course.

“The bag says a lot of things.” So are you, but none of them really mean anything, do they?

Matthew McConaughey is…oh, sorry, I didn’t catch

that. Something about his wife and

mouthed and entrancing. She is wearing a light blue, Chiffon Prada dress; words cannot even begin to describe how gorgeous it is. People seem to be unsure about the headband, but I think it’s great. It looks like a crown, and she is a queen, so it is entirely fitting.

Leonardo DiCaprio is looking very dapper tonight in an Armani tux.

Perhaps this will be your night, my poor man. Perhaps tonight will be your night.

I don’t know how to feel about Penelope Cruz’s dress. It’s like, it’s trying to be pretty, but the light pink and black is reminding me of Victoria’s mom and a white tuxedo? I kind of zoned out.

I am incredibly disappointed by Jennifer Lawrence. There was zero sarcasm in that interview. I refuse to believe that she has succumbed to the dark side of fame and is instead laughing at this boring interviewer in her head.

She does look very pretty in her Dior dress, though.

A n d here is Bill Mur ray, keeping it real.

You can tell he really isn’t cooperating with the inter viewer by the way she is quickly shuff ling him off the stage. Thank you for not being boring.

And I am switching over to ABC! I feel that they talk will be at least a little less vapid.

Unsurprisingly, Amy Adams looks beautiful. Her hair is in an updo and she is wearing an amazing navy blue Gucci dress. You go, girl. You’ve still got it.

Cate Blanchett looks incredible in a nude, embroidered Armani Prive gown. Same goes for Sandra Bullock, who is wearing a satiny, navy blue Alexander

Secret, for some reason. Get it together, dress. Get it together.

And it’s over! The interviewers are talking about the rain for the few remaining minutes and everyone is moving inside the theater. Let the real awards show begin.

Style & Entertainment

March 17, 2014

Why Sam Woolf Will (and Should?) Win “American Idol” Adam Samuel

Staff Writer

American Idol may have only have just begun its march to the finale, but viewers are scrambling already to predict who will take home the crown. With great singers in the mix like Alex Preston, Majesty Rose and Jena Irene, for some viewers, the crown may be up for grabs. However for those who have done research into polls, Idol’s history, and have read the tea leaves, all signs point towards Sam Woolf

winning. This might seem like an outrageous claim so early before the finale, but lets take a deeper look at why Sam Woolf has the best shot of taking the crown and does he actually even deserve to win the title.

Why Sam Woolf will win “American Idol” Season 13He is a white guy with a guitar- In the past six years, five of them have been white males who play guitar. While he may share this attribute with fellow contestant Alex Preston, Sam embodies everything that the past WGWG (white guy with a guitar) winners had. With his shy, affable personality, skill with a guitar and a pretty strong voice, the WGWG title fits him like a glove. Should he falter, Alex Preston also fits the bill pretty well.

However, where Alex meets Sam in terms of being a WGWG, he falters when it comes to polls.

Polls- Over the internet, various polls exist on numerous sites that gauge the popularity of the contestants. On each website with a poll that I’ve been able to find, the contestant with the most votes is almost always Sam (usually followed

by Alex or Majesty). While these polls are not actual votes, the fact that Sam is winning in nearly every poll speaks to his popularity. Based on that alone, I’d consider him a potential winner.

The “Idol” producers have picked him to be the chosen one. This might not seem that obvious to casual viewers, but to long time Idol viewers, it’s possible to figure out who the producers are favoring to win. In Sam’s case, he is following in the steps of what past WGWG Idol winners, namely Phillip Phillips and Scotty

McCreery, both of whom were also the producers’ favorites. The way Sam has been portrayed in his pre-performance packages have shown him in the most positive light possible as a way to make viewers connect better and sympathize with him. It must also be noted that Sam generally performs towards the end of the show, as Idol history has shown that those who perform later get more votes as that’s when more people are tuning in compared to the beginning. With the producers behind his back, the vision of Sam winning the season looks a lot more likely of happening.

However, while the signs all seem

to be pointing towards a Sam Woolf victory, let’s take a look at some of the reasons he deserves to win.

For starters, he is one of the better singers. This season of “Idol” has a very diverse cast, and while some rise or fall under the pressure of performing on the big stage, Sam, along with a few others, have been delivering stellar performances every week. In most recaps/assessment, Sam usually ranks around fourth and

He is a versatile performer. Sam has showcased his ability to tackle multiple musical genres, which is something not many other contestants on “Idol” this season can say. The fact that he can do this, would allow him in the real music industry to create albums that would appeal to many different groups of people.

He could make a difference in the music industry today- Sam’s appeal is

up best performances of the nights. The key with most WGWGs winning, is consistency; while other favorites may falter, the WGWGs are known to always perform at a strong level and stay in their lane.

He has skills as a songwriter. During his Hollywood solo, Sam showcased his ability to create songs with meaning and radio friendly appeal. While others in the competition might also have some songwriting ability, Sam also has the appeal of being a WGWG, which could sway people to prefer him over others.

that he is current, and has talent. With his vocals and songwriting ability, Sam has the most potential to be able to carry his popularity over into the real life music industry. Everything about Sam is perfectly marketable to the current demand of pop culture music. Right now, “Idol’s” ratings are falling fast and the show needs another winner that they can champion and show they can produce real stars. Sam’s win at the moment seems imminent, but as long as he can be the winner that American Idol is needing right now, and as long as he performs at the level necessary for him to win, then I say that he should take the title.

Now, the question must be asked, if he were to falter later in the competition, who then would have the best chance of defying “Idol” history and dethroning Sam? Well according to the the online polls, “Idol” history, and the fact that he also is a versatile WGWG, Alex Preston would be most likely to claim Sam’s crown. If Sam is the recipient of one of Idol’s infamous shocking eliminations (Alex Preston is looking more likely to receive one, but that’s a story for another article), or simply struggles later on, hungry contestants like Jena, Majesty, Alex or Jess are most likely to swop in, but I’d place my bets on Sam taking home the crown, just based on idol history alone.

Do you agree with me, or are you hoping someone else will take the crown?

15

Style & Entertainment

What Ever Happened to Simple Plan?

Adam Samuel

Staff Writer

Growing up in the late 90s and early 2000s, there were many rock bands that people were singing along to in the school halls or were playing on the radio on the bus ride home. One of the fondest bands I remember from my childhood was Simple Plan, that basically everyone I knew was a fan of at the time. As it was one of the first bands whose music I started enjoying myself (rather than the Meatloaf and Barry Manilow records my father would continuously play in the car), I still remember my early school years when their songs come up on my iPod. Simple Plan and similar bands like The All American Rejects were just getting started when I was discovering music, but now here we are in 2014 and I’m left scratching my head, wondering where one of my first favorite rock bands ended up. For me, Simple Plan was a band whose songs spoke to the children of my generation, and with songs like Shut Up, I’m Just a Kid and Welcome to My Life, their popularity reflected the relevance of their music. At

the time, they were super popular, but since then they just faded away. I did some research, and here’s what I compiled about Simple Plan.

Simple Plan starred Pierre Bouvier on lead vocals and as songwriter. At the peak of Bouvier a n d

scored the most success and was used in a few movies like “Cheaper By the Dozen” and “The New Guy.” Since then, the album went on to release three more albums with a fifth currently in the works. Aside from the band, Bouvier has settled down and married his

Simple Plan’s popularity, their best selling album “No Pads, No Helmets... Just Balls,” managed to be certified as double platinum. Their hit single, “I’m Just a Kid”

longtime girlfriend; they currently have two children together.

In terms of charity work, Simple Plan’s members have on multiple occasions

March 17, 2014

created foundations centered around relief for tragic events or done charity shows for awareness towards things like human trafficking and drunk driving. The band might be flying under the radar, but they are still making positive steps for themselves in the music industry.

Aside from doing a few occasional tours here and there, Simple Plan really kept it plain and simple (see what I did there?).

Since their first debut album, the band hasn’t been able to breakout and move into mainstream, but that doesn’t mean they are over or disbanding. With plans for a future album and more touring, while you sadly probably won’t be hearing them on the radio, you can still look out for new music coming from them.

While their one hit wonder like album as their peak, while Simple Plan might not have really broken out, their first album truly captured the wonders of what it was like to grow up in today’s modern time. Simple Plan was one of my favorite bands since I was a kid, and whenever their songs randomly come up on my iPod, I always smile and remember how once, long ago, they started my love for music. For that, I am forever thankful for them.

From Jay to Jimmy: “The Tonight Show” Athena Middleton

Contributing Writer

February 6, 2014 marked the end of another era with The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. For 22 years, Leno spent nights in front of the camera making America

Picture Credit: hollywoodreporter.com

laugh. He spent his last show with the Tonight Show the same way he started it in May 1992, interviewing Billy Crystal.

The night was full of laughs and old memories. As the show progressed, the gravity of the moment began to weigh on Leno. When it was time to wrap up his final show. The emotion of the situation finally hit home when he succumbed to his emotions as we waved his final goodbye.

Many Leno fans know that this would 16

not be the first time Jay left the Tonight Show.

His first departure was when he turned the reins over to Conan O’Brien.

It turned out to be unsuccessful and NBC to turn over the reins back to him in just under a year. Leno’s first departure show featured the children born to the crew members that became his family in the decades he was at the Tonight Show. Many late night television watchers remember the changing of hosts but few know the behind the scenes story of what really went on the first time Leno left the Tonight Show. CBS News reporter Steve Kroft sat down with Jay Leno to chat about what happened five years ago. Many are unaware Leno has no form of management controlling his career. In his interview with Kroft, Leno is quoted as saying “I was blindsided... (NBC executives said) ‘You’re out...’ and I went ‘okay.’” He says he never asked NBC why, but the news hurt him like a romantic breakup.

“You know, you have a girl who says, ‘I don’t want to see you anymore.’ Why? You know, she doesn’t want to see you anymore, okay?” This was the first time

Leno ever spoke on his feelings of his first departure. He goes on to say he never asked why when they kicked him out and he never asked why when they brought him back. Many are unaware that the reason Leno was replaced in the first place was because Conan O’Brien threatened to leave the network if he wasn’t given the tonight show. But the ratings proved it wasn’t in the cards for O’Brien and after an unsuccessful eight months NBC paid 45 million for his departure from the show.

Picture Credit: latimes.com

Now as the time strikes again for Leno’s departure, it seems that his life has finally come full circle, despite the fact that he is being pushed aside once again for another host.

Leno says he knows times are changing and he no longer will be able to relate to the younger generations as he once could.

Jimmy Fallon debuted his first episode of the tonight show on Feb 17. When asked about Fallon’s ability to take over the Tonight Show, Leno describes Fallon as a young Johnny Carson.

Style & Entertainment

March 17, 2014

Marina Watts

Editor In Chief

This Oscar season, a film powered by estrogen has graced the presence of the silver screen. Even better, it’s one that isn’t all sunshine and butterflies, leaving audiences nauseated by a neverending parade of femininity.

“August: Osage County” is a film adaptation of the play with the same name penned

by Tracy Letts.

It received the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for best drama, along with a Tony Award the same year for best play. The dark comedy revolving around the twisted family affairs guarantees leaving audiences a bit more comfortable with their own upon leaving the theater.

The film centers around the matriarch Violet Weston (Meryl Streep), as she calls together her daughters Barbara (Julia Roberts), Ivy (Julianne Nicholson), and Karen (Juliette Lewis), with their respective families. The cause of their reunion is for a time of family crisis, as her husband goes missing.

The brazen Weston women come to terms with their own lives (and how they are falling apart), and confront their drug addict of a mother.

The script is excellent. It is a well-written character piece, leaving much room for character development and leaves closure for viewers by the end of the film. The ensemble cast won a Hollywood Film Award for their work and collaboration on “August: Osage County” at the Hollywood Film Festival. Each character is facing some form of emotional entrapment, whether or not they want to acknowledge it or admit it.

The pain that everyone feels in the film may not be relatable as a whole, but it’s real to each character and motivates them to make such self-destructive decisions.

A psychological look at the film’s characters is an important approach to understanding the plot twists (none of which that I saw coming). Everyone is stuck with their own interpersonal and relationship issues, and even though they all have a way out, none of them feel like they can get out. They all choose their

own escapisms, or choose not to, which becomes detrimental. This emotional paralysis holds them back, and worsens the reunion that unfolds on the silver screen.

Barbara is coping with the recent separation from her husband Bill (Ewan McGregor) and potentially raising her daughter Jean (Abigail Breslin) on her

him as “Little Charles.” That title alone is degrading, let alone the treatment he receives from his own mother.

Karen is the youngest of the Weston sisters, and seems to suffer from being the youngest child.

Pushed aside, she latches onto older men who seem to give her attention. Whether it is affection through actions or buying her

own. The reason for their separation?

Her husband had an affair with a girl not much older than Jean. Barbara wants to save her family, but her constant need for control prevents her from doing so.

The OCD like behavior proves to be self-destructive on her part and adds to

whatever she wants, Karen craves it, and her current beau as Steve Heidebrecht (Dermot Mulroney) seems to satisfy.

However, he has other things in mind, and they hurt her. She is so focused on her own happiness, she won’t shut up about it, even though her assumed fairy

her family’s fallout. She says so herself, “Thank God we can’t tell the future, we could never get out of bed.”

Ivy faces romantic entrapment as well, as she is the only sister to stay local to keep tabs on Violet. She is also seeing her first cousin, Charles (Benedict Cumberbatch) without the family knowing. Ivy feels that he is her only choice, since she feels old as her passion slowly dies. You cannot help but feel bad for Charles, as everyone refers to

tale ending is anything but that.

Last but not least, Violet is caught in the middle of all the insanity, as nothing gets past her. She is undergoing treatment for oral cancer, and is addicted to her prescription meds. She knew the cause of her own husband’s death, and her husband’s affair with her own sister.

Violet is brash, unafraid to reveal what she knows to her family, regardless of how it will effect them.

All the positive anger that culminates

throughout the films run keeps it on its feet. The execution of dialogue is quick, and before you know it the two hour long film is over. It takes you into twists that will leave you gasping (I know I did) and “Oh my God” will be all you can muster up.

Letts had originally wanted the actors who worked on stage for the play to reprise their roles in the film.

O bv io u sly, that didn’t happen.

The ending of the film had also been changed at the request of Harvey We i n s t e i n .

During the initial rounds of screen testing, the play’s ending had negative feedback when shown on screen.

The Academy gave two nominations to this film: Best Actress (Meryl Streep) and Best Supporting Actress (Julia Roberts). There had never before been a Streep-Roberts collaboration before this one, so it’s safe to say that the wait was worth it. Roberts actually acts and doesn’t play “Julia Roberts” in this film as a change, showing some real on screen emotion. The fish scene has us laughing, and all the plot twists that Roberts gets caught up in sweep us away, filled with shock. Even though Streep plays an absolutely insane matriarch coping with a drug addiction, we still love her. Even Julia Roberts. On an interview, Roberts broke down in tears when sharing the news about “August: Osage County,” saying that Streep is her favourite actress.

Streep’s comebacks are sarcastic, and quick. If you tune out for a second, you wonder why everyone else is laughing and you aren’t.

Overall, “August: Osage County” has been overshadowed this year during Oscar season by films like the glitzy “American Hustle” and the serious “12 Years A Slave.” But it’s okay. We got the Streep-Roberts collaboration that had been long past overdue.

And with the talents of Benedict Cumberbatch, Ewan McGregor and Juliette Powers also gracing us with their onscreen presence, “August: Osage County” is the perfect off-beat film to make you thank your family for not being as crazy as the Westons.

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Style & Entertainment

Marina Watts

Editor In Chief

Released last November was the biographical drama, “Dallas Buyers Club.” It features Matthew McConaughey

at his finest, Jared Leto making a return to the silver screen after five years. Based on a true story (as everything seems to be nowadays), “Dallas Buyers Club” follows Donald Woodroof (McConaughey) through his battle against HIV, and eventually AIDS. Bull rider and electrician, Woodroof lived life to the fullest each day with drugs, sex and alcohol galore.

Upon his diagnosis with 30 days to live, he denied that he could have contracted it. Once he began researching what the illness is, and how you contract it, he realizes that it is no mistake. At this point, HIV and AIDS were new to the medical world, and there was no treatment to cure its patients.

Woodroof takes it upon himself to get a hold of AZT, the drug that has the most positive test results this far. He first consults Dr. Eve Saks (Jennifer Garner) to get him some dosages, but cannot acquire it within his thirty days left. He learns more and more about the disease, and through self-testing tons of drugs, he figures out which supplements will prolong how much 18

March 17, 2014

time you may have. The Dallas Buyers Club is born, with him smuggling drugs in, and with the help of the transgender woman Rayon (played by Jared Leto), he gets down to business.

The film is incredible, as Woodroof does whatever it takes to cure himself, and extends the opportunity to those around him.

At $400 a month for membership, AIDS patients are able to acquire as much drugs as they want for treatment.

However, these drugs were not approved by the FDA. A decent amount of it was vitamins and supplements used to keep your immune system healthy, and they work provided you stay clean.

When HIV and AIDS first surfaced, doctors were unsure of how to treat it, so they tested drugs on patients to find out what worked. Doctors like Dr. Eve

Craig Borten went to Texas to speak with the man. After spending three days with Woodroof, Borten wrote a screenplay. His charisma lent itself to a script, as his story was interesting, and could fill a theater under the right circumstances. It took a long time for it to go into production, as other prominent Hollywood figures such as Woody Harrelson and Ryan Gosling were attached to the film at several points themselves.

In order to make the film focus more on Woodroof himself, his real-life sister and daughter were left out of the script. This allowed for the piece to become a character study of the man, and keep him the main focus of his biography. The characters of Rayon and Dr. Saks were also written for the film, after interviews with AIDS patients and doctors were compiled to create them.

Saks (Jennifer Garner) in the film tried to figure out what works best. Although the FDA did approve AZT, a drug that was supposed to regenerate the T cell count, it had side effects that weakened the immune system. To keep himself alive for a little longer, Woodroof smuggled in the illegal drugs. He also wanted to help people in the same situation as him and was able to so. Woodroof wound up living When the story of Woodroof first appeared in a newspaper, screenwriter

The pre-production process of “Dallas Buyers Club” had been underway since 1992, before Woodroof’s death. The production of the film wasn’t easy, either.

Due to budget limitations, there was little to no lighting set-ups. The only camera used was a handheld, which resulted in each take having a 15 minute limit to filming footage. The result of all the pressure? Amazing.

Matthew McConaughey shines in this film; it is possibly the best of his career

thus far. In preparation of this role, he lost 47 pounds. The Hollywood Foreign Press awarded him the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama, and it was well deserved.

He is definitely a big contender in the Best Actor category for the Academy Awards, and he might win. That category is packed

with talent this year but McConaughey’s transformation to play Woodroof was the best.

The five year break Leto took from acting definitely paid off. He won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama, and got a nod from the Academy for Best Supporting Actor as well. He lost 30 pounds for this role, and was at one point 114 pounds. He is a dedicated actor who isn’t afraid to stay in character, even when leaving set to go grocery shopping.

(True story-he went to a supermarket and frightened a few customers in his dress and heels).

“Dallas Buyers Club” was up for six Academy Awards this March in the following categories: Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Motion Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Film Editing. It took home the Oscars for Best Makeup and Hair Styling, along with Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. McConaughey and Leto gave moving acceptance speeches, and the awards were well deserved.

March 17, 2014

Science & Health

New Spins on Old Favorites

By Valissa Hicks

Chicken Dorito

Ingredients1 rotisserie chicken, shredded 2 Tbs. taco seasoning 1 (13.5 oz) can cream of chicken soup 1 (13.5 oz) can cream of mushroom soup 1 (14.5 oz) can rotel 2-3 cups white cheddar cheese 1/2 bag blue corn tortilla chips (or you could use the traditional Doritos)

DirectionsPreheat oven to 350. In a bowl, combine the chicken, soups, rotel and taco seasoning. Mix well. In a large casserole dish (or two smaller ones), spread the chips along the bottom.

Pour the chicken mixture over the chips, followed by the shredded cheddar cheese. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Remove covering and flip the oven to broil to get the cheese brown and bubbly!

Lentil and Zucchini Tacos with a Chipotle Cream Sauce Ingredients1 cup green lentils 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 cups diced zucchini 4 cups arugula 1 (6 oz) container plain Greek yogurt 2 or 3 chipotle peppers with a little adobo sauce 1/2 cup cilantro juice of one lime 16 white corn tortillas

coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

DirectionsBring a pot of salted water to a boil.

Add the lentils and cook until tender, but not broken, roughly 25 minutes. Test at the 20-minute mark. Drain the water if needed. Add the arugula to the lentils and stir to wilt. Cover and keep warm. In the meantime, heat the olive oil to medium high. Add the garlic and bloom 15 seconds.

Add the zucchini and a pinch of salt and pepper. SautĂŠ until it starts to brown on

both sides, about 7 minutes.

R e m o v e zucchini from pan and set aside for a hot second. Back in the pan, with the heat on medium, add the corn tortillas a few at a time and heat them until they slightly char on both sides.

Layer two corn tortillas at a time. Spoon the lentil/ar ugula mixture on the bottom, followed by the sautĂŠed zucchini.

Drizzle with the chipotle cream sauce.

Serve tacos with more cilantro and lime slices on hand!

Recipes from Bev Cooks 19

Technology

March 17, 2014

New Drama from Netflix, and it’s Not a Show Daniel Tagle

Staff Writer

For many, Netflix has become a staple of American lives. Netflix offers a vast array of movies and TV shows that consumers can choose to watch at the click of a button for a flat, monthly rate. Instead of paying for various services and subscriptions from websites and stores such as Redbox or Hulu, Netflix has provided a one-stopshop for customers that only requires a subscription to one service for all the TV and movie wants and needs a person may have.

However, ISPs, or internet service providers, started to be threatened by Netflix’s new-found success. Although being called internet service providers, ISP companies generally included cable television as part of their internet packages, and the rise in popularity of Netflix threatens the relevance of paying for TV service. ISPs make money from packaging internet, TV, and phone services for customers, but due to the changing market in telecommunications, landline phone service is gradually becoming obsolete, and companies such as Netflix make TV subscriptions useless.

Consumers pay large amounts of money for their packages and those packages often include more television channels than a person would ever watch. This problem has

increased the popularity of ideas that would let consumers pick and choose, and then pay for the channels they want, or just let go of the cable service completely. Owning

Android or iOS, be accessed via video games consoles such as Xbox One and 360, Playstations 3 and 4, and the Nintendo Wii and WiiU, be pre-loaded into “smart” TVs,

a subscription to Netflix means consumers are in no need of cable service, as they can simply watch the TV shows they want or the movies they want all on Netflix.

Another factor supporting Netflix is the availability of the product. Netflix can: be downloaded as an app on any phone,

and be accessed through any computer. On almost any piece of technology, Netflix can be found, or accessed, provided an internet connection is present.

With the recent information of slow speeds for some Netflix users coming to light, many consumers are misguided,

or misinformed. Many consumers immediately criticize ISPs when faced with the slower and lower quality service that they may receive from Netflix. However, Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon are not deliberately blocking or deliberately slowing down Netflix’s services. The truth is, the reason Netflix runs poorly to ISPs such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon is the third party content delivery networks, or CDNs. CDNs are companies that have servers throughout the Internet, and internet traffic from ISPs go through these servers.

However, the size of all the traffic coming from Netflix is too big for these CDNs, so Netflix became its own CDN, and called it “Open Connect”. With Open Connect, Netflix has been able to bring its traffic and information straight to the ISPs. While some ISPs have agreed to use Netflix’s Open Connect, others haven’t, and many customers have paid the price.

Although it seems like some ISPs are going against Net neutrality laws and purposefully lowering speeds, the reality is that the service quality has been slowly getting worse and worse due to the network congestion that the traffic coming from Netflix has on the CDN services that are delivering the information from Netflix some ISPs. Netflix wanted to make Open Connect so users can enjoy good quality streaming to their devices, and provided that ISPs use it, Netflix has the results to back up their service performance claims.

Add Some Google Fiber to Your Diet Daniel Tagle

Staff Writer

Throughout the years, Google, as a company, has revolutionized the way people think and act everyday. Today, Google has become so ingrained with our lives that the word “Google” itself has been made into a verb, often being used in sentences to mean to search for something on the Internet.

Google, however, was not content with just being the number one search engine, and has continued to encourage development of technologies. One such example of Google’s advancing technologies is Google Fiber. Computers have become

20

part of everyday lives, be it a desktop at home, a laptop, a tablet, or a phone. All these devices can access the Internet, and in this information age, seconds can make a difference. It may come as a shock, then, that the United States still lags behind other countries when it comes to Internet speeds. Right now, the speeds that many people use in the United States are half than those enjoyed by those in South Korea.

We also are slower than countries such as Latvia and Czech Republic.

Google, to some, has come as savior to this internet speed “crisis” by providing internet service speeds up to 1-gigabit connections. With their services, Google hopes to usher the country to a new age of Internet power.

This all sounds good to me, so how come I have never heard of it, or how come

there is no Google Fiber where I live? The answer to this question is heavily reliant on the government of the city you are living in.

Building and operating optical fiber networks is not very easy.

In order for Google to come to a city, a city must first pass checklist created by Google to see whether or not it is ready or has potential. Even after passing the checklist of over thousands of cities, Google requires full cooperation from the government. Many local

governments may not be OK with this idea because “full cooperation” means access to maps of poles, conduit, existing water, gas, and electricity lines, and access to government buildings. After that, Google does a very detailed study of the city and just by itself; the study can take a long time.

This process is difficult, and it shows that Google picks new cities very carefully.

Knowing this, it is good to hear that Google Fiber has been looking to expand even more; this time, 34 new locations have been seen as potential candidates. These locations include Atlanta, Georgia, Charlotte, North Carolina, Nashville, Tennessee, Salt Lake City, Utah, San Antonio, Texas, Phoenix, Arizona, Portland, Oregon, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, and unsurprisingly, San Jose, California.

With these locations, Google hopes to provide more revolutionary speed to thousands, if not millions of households, to eventually provide every American an opportunity to surf the Internet quickly, and with no fear of slowing down.

Technology

March 17, 2014

A Mobile Personal Theater Inside Your Headphones Matthew Tsuei

Contributing Writer

For years, headphones have been a classic source of entertainment for billions of people. While they’ve taken many forms, be it simple ear buds or $600 studio headphones, they’ve always been exclusively for audio. Starting with the Q1 2015 however, that’s all set to change. Just a few months ago, a small Michigan based startup called Avegant introduced a product with the potential to usher in a whole new category of wearable electronics: the Glyph.

At first glance, the Glyph looks like a bulky pair of headphones. Flip down the headband, and rest it on your nose as a visor, and you’ll suddenly be immersed in a breathtaking HD video experience. The twist? There is no display in the Glyph. The image you see, which appears as a movie theater sized screen from the middle row seats, is actually taking advantage of a new cutting edge display technology known as a “Virtual Retinal Display”, or VRD for short. A VRD actually beams the photons of light through your pupil and onto your retina at the back of the eyeball (the retina being where our eye forms images). Because the Glyph is essentially using your retina as a projector screen, the image quality is extraordinarily high, much better than conventional displays such as LCDs. Another advantage of VRD tech is that the

image you see is formed from reflected light- much like we see in the natural world. This creates an image that feels more comfortable and natural than one would experience using

a conventional LCD, where the light is being emitted from your image source and can cause eye strain with prolonged exposure.

While beaming the image into your eye sounds dangerous, it’s actually significantly more natural. Not only is the image you see

much better than any other commercially available display, it’s also significantly safer for your eye.

If you’re thinking you won’t be able to use a device like this because you wear glasses, think again.

The Glyph features built in optics that allow you to simply turn a knob to focus the image until it is crystal clear for any eye without the use of glasses, and since the image isn’t formed until the photons are on your retina, it naturally bypasses many visual defects that even prescription glasses can’t correct.

Don’t worry about using this device while in public, too, as it actually doesn’t obstruct your vision. While the sides and top view are naturally blocked by the headband, you can actually glance down below the display much like the way you can look down at your lap while in the movie theater and continue using your smartphone or laptop.

By all accounts, the image fidelity the Glyph presents is beyond that of any display available to date, and it all comes in a pair of sleek headphones. However, that doesn’t mean they skimped out on the audio quality, the Glyph uses studio quality custom drivers in the ear cups to deliver a sound range equal to that of a pair of Beats by Dre or Bose headphones. The Glyph has a built-in battery that allows for 3 hours of continuous video or 48 hours of audio. The best part is the Glyph can plug into any device that supports HDMI and uses only a single cable, meaning you can have anything from a movie theater-like viewing experience while on the bus, to video being streamed right off your smartphone. It also means hooking it up to your favorite game console to play on the virtual big screen, or even connect it to your PC for a private viewing experience. There are neither multiple cables or a control box, nor a complex setup process; simply plug and play with any modern device. While you might expect the Glyph to be a very expensive device, especially considering it’s the first of its kind to use a VRD, you can actually pre-order one for only $499.

That’s not much more than a pair of Beats

by Dre headphones, yet includes the ability to present jaw dropping HD video by simply flipping down the headband. Having just raised over $1.5 million on Kickstarter, the Glyph is currently available for pre-order at www.avegant.com and will be shipping Q1 2015.

Facebook’s Latest Buy: WhatsApp With That?

Anuj Chokshi

Photography Editor

Social media giant Facebook recently acquired one of the biggest messaging companies, WhatsApp, for $19 billion, taking one more step to becoming the world’s biggest social media company.

The deals between the two companies involve $12 billion in Facebook shares, $4 billion in cash, and an additional $3 billion in RSUs for employee retention.

Just five years old, WhatsApp holds its weight very well against big messaging giants like Google, Skype and Twitter. Referring to WhatsApp’s tremendous growth, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on a conference call, “No one in the history of the world has done anything like that.” He also said, “WhatsApp had every option in the world, so I’m thrilled that they chose to work with us. I’m looking forward to what Facebook and WhatsApp can do together, and to developing great new mobile services that give people even more options for connecting.”

The development and the growth of WhatsApp have broken many records. WhatsApp has over 450 million active monthly users, with 70% of those active each day. Facebook must have noticed the messaging volume of WhatsApp approached the SMS volume of the entire global telecom industry — and that it’s adding one million users a day. “WhatsApp is a simple, fast and reliable mobile messaging service that is used by over 450 million people on 22

every major mobile platform. More than 1 million people sign up for WhatsApp every day and it is on its way to connecting one billion people,” Zuckerberg said.

After buying WhatsApp, Facebook has decided to run WhatsApp as an independent company.

“WhatsApp will continue to operate independently within Facebook. The product roadmap

Was buying WhatsApp for $19 billion the right decision? Of course it was. Facebook has now become the biggest social media company, and being challenged by some other company is not in its best interest. Facebook acquired Instagram a few years ago for $1 billion.

Just imagine what it would be worth now. There is a saying: “If you can’t beat

will remain unchanged and the team is going to stay in Mountain View. Over the next few years, we’re going to work hard to help WhatsApp grow and connect the whole world. We also expect that WhatsApp will add to our efforts for Internet.org, our partnership to make basic Internet services affordable for everyone,” Zuckerberg announced.

your rival, buy it.” That’s exactly what Facebook is doing right now. Facebook recently offered to buy Snapchat, which is also one of the rising stars in today’s social media applications. After being refused by Snapchat, Instagram announced a “direct sharing” option, which does basically the same thing as Snapchat.

Similarly, Facebook had the same reason for buying WhatsApp. Historically, WhatsApp is the fastest growing company in messaging, user wise. If the company’s growth continues, and it would have tremendous amount of MAUs, it will be worth an even higher amount of money than it does today. At the same time, WhatsApp’s messaging and connection time would have overtaken the time that Facebook could have earned.

But now, Facebook has demolished all the risks of that by buying it.

Now those users and their time both are bought by Facebook.

One of the other reasons for buying WhatsApp could be that the WhatsApp’s growth and usage could be really challenging for Facebook in the future. WhatsApp currently has 450 million MAUs with 315 million daily users.

WhatsApp adds one million users every day and shortly it will reach one billion overall users. When at the other hand, Facebook only has 1.2 billion users.

If you think WhatsApp is just a messaging service and can’t compare with Facebook, you are wrong. WhatsApp doesn’t just send and receive texts, but you can also send pictures, videos, audio, voicemails and even update your status and profile picture using WhatsApp. Facebook would not like another competitor in the market.

Facebook has seen an amazing future after buying WhatsApp, and have some strategies to lead social networking and communication to a whole new level.(With information from www. businessinsider.com).

Sports

March 17, 2014

Felton’s Gun Troubles: Knicks’ Disappointing Season Continues Benedict Tagle

Sports Editor

Raymond Felton’s season has been incredibly disappointing. Like the team’s season so far, he has fallen short of all expectations. Prior to this season, there was talk of the Knicks possibly competing for postseason glory. There were whispers that expectations of the organization were championship-caliber.

Felton has played terribly this season. He is having a career-low in points per game, steals per game, free throw percentage, three point field goal percentage, as well as other numerous statistics.

There has been speculation around basketball pundits that Felton’s play has been a major catalyst in the regression of the Knicks’ performance.

Remember Linsanity? The team’s front office elected to let go of Jeremy Lin in favor of Felton, believing Felton was a better player. Fast-forward to today, and it seems as if the decision they made was incorrect. Lin has continued to excel in Houston, part of a possible championship contending Rockets team, complimenting

James Harden and Dwight Howard. Felton has had his moments—most notably the stretches of brilliance last season—but has not performed well enough to justify the Knicks’ decision to relinquish Lin. All of these different factors, including jokes about Felton’s weight, have made the

notably, “I had one year when I was out of shape, now everybody wants to talk about my weight every year. It’s kind of getting old. It’s kind of getting on my nerves that that’s all you want to talk about. Don’t make no excuses for me.”

Shortly after this statement, his season

former University of North Carolina star an easy target for both the media and the fans. It seems as if the increased scrutiny and criticism has gotten to the point guard.

In an interview with Newsday, Felton had a few choice words for his detractors, most

took another disastrous turn. A few days after his interview, Felton turned himself in during the wee hours of the morning to the New York Police Department. He was charged with felony weapons possession after his wife brought an unregistered

Belgian-made gun to authorities. New York City has strict gun possession laws, and this may indicate trouble for Felton’s career. In 2009, former New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress was sentenced to two years in prison on a plea deal after he shot himself in a New York City nightclub. To make matters worse for Felton, he allegedly threatened his estranged wife with the firearm.

Felton posted the $25,000 bail and is still playing with the Knicks. The combination of his subpar performance, Lin’s success, and increased media presence has been nothing but bad news for the team. Rather than focusing on the team’s poor performances and struggle to win a playoff spot, the spotlight has been revolving around Felton.

Basketball has become the least of his problems. If Felton is found guilty of the charges against him, this season may be the last of his career. Teams will have to evaluate his past behavior and performance, in addition to figuring out if he will still be able to play.

For the Knicks, it’s just another bump in arguably one of the worst seasons in franchise history.

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Sports

Jason Collins’ Enormous Step

Benny Cernaro

Staff Writer

Jason Collins is the first openly gay player to step on one of the four American major sports fields. Collins played his first NBA game of the season on February 23. Before that, there was much controversy over whether or not he would be treated the same on the court because he is gay.

Collins signed with the Brooklyn Nets and when asked about if there would be an issue, point guard Deron Williams said to SNY reporter Gary Apple, “There is going to be no change towards anybody they are going to do the same routine they always do.”

Collins played his first game and was ecstatic. He is focused to play the game that he loves.

He wanted to come out and say he was gay because he wanted to play the game with no lies.

He also wanted to make a difference for the future.

Kobe Bryant was asked about Collins’ first game, playing on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers. He came off the bench that night

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and played just over 10 minutes of action.

He was scoreless in his time on the court but had three rebounds during the game.

“His impact [Sunday night] is greater than what people think,” Bryant told

first openly gay player. But they missed the domino effect that it has way beyond sports. I think the most important part about it, what I’ve learned on the issue is that one person coming out is showing this

Yahoo Sports before the game. “You look at it from the context of having the

type of courage that gives others that same type of courage.”

March 17, 2014

Collins signed a 10 day contract, and was promptly signed to another when the first contract expired. When asked if he would like to stay with the team for the entire season Collins said he “would love to stay with the Nets for the remainder of the season and for future years.”

This has been an up-anddown roller coaster year for Collins because he was not with a team until a few days before signing with the Nets.

He was starting to think negatively of himself and wondered if he had made the right decision. When he got picked up he knew that he was still good enough to play and that him being gay had nothing to do with it.

Collins is very proud of his decision to tell people the truth and he hopes that it will change the sports world for good. He wants to send a message to future players that it does not matter if you have different characteristics.

As long as you have the heart and the talent to play, you should be able to play with no issues on or off the court. This goes for any sport that you play.